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A contractual agreement signed between a home owner and a warranty company is termed as a home warranty. This kind of a contract covers specific costs that are related to repair and replacements of household systems and appliances. Generally, the warranty companies provide the homeowners with a variety of plans, offering coverage at many different levels. Therefore, you must be careful because the coverage may vary from one company to the other. Below are answers to few of the more common legal questions about this type of warranty policy: Recently I bought a house with a home warranty. However, I found out that the septic system of my house is not working properly. I looked into the seller’s disclosure agreement where it says that the septic system was running well at the time of purchase. Moreover, it is written in my contract that I purchased the house in ‘as is’ condition. Now in a situation like this, what legal action can I take to pursue my seller in fixing the septic system of my house?
In a case like this, you could easily have your defective septic system replaced or repaired if your warranty offers coverage for that particular system. However, as per the warranty rule, if the septic system is not covered and your agreement states that the house was bought under ‘as is’ condition, then it is not legally possible for you to pursue your seller in repairing or replacing the septic system of your house. In other words, you cannot take any legal course of action against your seller. However, if you are able to provide enough evidence on the fact that your seller made a false statement on the condition of the septic system by not representing its defective condition accurately on purpose, you may be able to file a suit against him or her. The seller did not inform me that the heat pump and furnace of my house that I recently purchased were already defective. When my house went through the inspection, both the inspector and the heating company declared these items clear and allowed them to pass through the inspection. My warranty was bought by the realtor. But since both the furnace and heat pump are not working now, the warranty refuses to get them replaced or repaired as they are saying that these items had failed before I purchased the house, which means they are a pre-existing problem. What are my legal rights to fight this case?
To begin with, you certainly have all the rights to file a suit against the seller, the realtor and the inspector for violating the terms and conditions of the sales contract. Usually, there is a provision called errors and omissions coverage. On the basis of this provision, it is possible for the inspector and realtor to go for a partial settlement with you. Moreover, what you could do is take the help of an attorney and draft a demand letter. Then you can send those letters to them asking for a settlement. In case, you find out the matter has not been resolved even after sending them the letters, then you could approach the court and file a case against all of them to seek compensation not only for the damages you have suffered but also the legal fees you need to pay for the entire legal proceeding to occur. In addition to this, you have two other possible options. First, you could definitely do some following up on this issue by having them informed that a full disclosure was not performed and the property premises lacked an effective inspection. Secondly, if necessary, you may add the heating company as another party in your demand letters and lawsuit. When you sign a home warranty contract, you should not necessarily consider that all the repairs and replacement that are made in a house would be covered. Therefore, it is very essential for every homeowner and tenant to read and understand their warranty contracts very carefully. This is because it would help them to avoid any kind of misunderstanding and legal complication related to it. If you need any clarification about your particular situation on the subject, you may wish to ask a real estate lawyer for legal insight based on an expert evaluation of your circumstances.
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