All Forum Posts by: Kyle Houlahan

@Eric Weidner I agree that the buyer should have another technician come out and evaluate what is necessary for the unit to function properly. 

@Nancy P. Has nothing to do with "liking" the posts or not. I have received enough opinions to determine that this isn't a cut and dry situation and I don't think additional posts will provide much, if any value. At this point, the posts are just becoming repetitive. 

@Justin Fox You continue to assume scenarios. The technician never said it was normal to be that low or that the unit would be "as good as new" with the 4lbs added.

He said it would need at least 4lbs for the system to blow cold. That's it. No further details. He didn't inspect the compressor or any other part of the unit. He didn't go into details as to why the system needed refrigerant or if the amount of refrigerant that it needed was excessive or not. 

@Maugno M. my agents broker seems to think the same thing and has notified my agent that if necessary, to refer the buyer and his agent to the broker's attorney.

I've seemed to have gathered a large variety of opinions from this thread. Just the fact that so many people have so many vastly different opinions means this situation isn't as cut and dry as many of you are making it out to be. 

I don't think this thread needs any additional input at this point. I appreciate all of your opinions and input on the manner.

@Justin Fox

1. Not once did I ever say a non-functioning A/C is normal.
2. I don't understand how this situation makes me a "con man" in any way at all. I never once lied or deceived the buyer for personal gain, which is what a con man is. 

You're right, this thread is and will be public, but I still stand behind everything I have said in this thread. 

@Justin Fox This is my FIRST property I've EVER purchased. This was a primary residence that I lived in and decided to sell due to work related reasons after 10 months. Did I make money on the house, yes, but I am by no means wealthy or a professional flipper.

Should they have pushed closing back or had they're own technician diagnose the issue, yes, but they didn't. Neither I nor the buyer expected the A/C to need anything more than refrigerant.

@JD Martin I've since learned that since this issue has come up. This is my first house I've ever owned and first encounter with A/C issues.

@Michael Plante It was blowing cold when I fixed up the house and it was blowing cold during the inspection. That does not mean the leak wasn't present though. It can take months for refrigerant to leak out depending on the size of the leak. I'm assuming what happened in this case is that the leak already existed, but the refrigerant that leaked out from the time of inspection to the time of the final walk through (2-3 weeks) was enough for the A/C to not blow cold anymore.

The technician said the unit holds about 10lbs. He didn't tell me how low it was, but said it would need a minimum of 4lbs and then gave me a price. I made the buyer aware of this and they accepted that and proceeded to close.

At the time of contract, the buyer requested I contribute 1% towards closing ($2,100), which I agreed to. If I were to have repaired the A/C unit, including a new compressor, I would have renegotiated the closing contribution to the buyer, as the value of the house would have increased after the repair, in my opinion. 

Well if it has a leak now then it had a leak when the property was contracted. Whether or not the inspector caught that it had a leak is another story.

So in that sense, I'm not liable to fix the leak if it was a pre-existing condition, correct?

Regarding the compressor, it did not fail, it simply is an older compressor and the technician suggests replacing it. I'm sure the compressor is in the same state that it was when the property was contracted 30 days ago, and if they had the same technician come out a month ago, he would have given them the same recommendation. 

From the buyers perspective, would it even be worth pursuing legal action considering the cost of an attorney and the time it would take to come to a resolution? I think his biggest concern is getting the A/C repaired ASAP, but if legal action is going to take weeks/months, then he would be better off saving the time, money, and headache and just go through his home warranty in 10 days time.

@Wayne Brooks the technician quoted me $660 to add 4lbs of refrigerant to the unit. To fill it entirely would have been even more. Quite an unexpected expense the day before close, especially when I would consider that a maintenance item. I didn't have time to have any other techs come out and provide another opinion since it was Sunday afternoon. I told the buyer what I learned from the tech and he said okay and we proceeded to close. I personally would have had my own technician go out and inspect the unit if I was him, but that wasn't the case here.

@Bob Okenwa the issue I'm running into now is that I just requested a written report from the A/C company, since up until now I had zero evidence that I even had someone go out there and inspect the unit. On the report it states leaking R22, needs repair or replace. 

Problem 1: The report is very vague as to what the tech is actually suggesting is repaired or replaced.

Problem 2: I was not aware that the unit was leaking when he initially inspected the unit. He called me and told me it needed refrigerant and provided a verbal quote for 4lbs to be added. Mentioned nothing about a leak or any costs to repair the leak.

I'm going to call the A/C company today and see if they can have the technician specify exactly what he meant by repair/replace and provide the quote for the refrigerant that he verbally gave me over the phone.