By Barry Stone
Dear Barry,
The home I'm buying is in escrow, but a dispute has arisen over the condition of the forced air heater. My home inspector found exhaust spilling from the furnace into the building. He says this is unsafe and should be corrected by a licensed heating contractor. The seller argued over this for several days. Finally, he called the Gas Company, but the gasman said the furnace was ok. My agent, however, learned that the Gas Company was never shown a copy of the home inspector's report and was never told about the exhaust problem. Instead, the gasman was simply asked to perform a routine check of the furnace. I'm so upset over this; I'm ready to cancel escrow. Do you have any suggestions? - Deena
Dear Deena,
Many of the defects commonly reported by home inspectors are negotiable between buyer and seller. But a problem that involves occupant safety, such as faulty venting of furnace exhaust, is most emphatically not an issue to be contested. When hazardous conditions are discovered or even suspected, whether they involve gas burning fixtures, electrical wiring, safety rails, or whatever, all parties and agents should be in common accord in the pursuit of discovery, confirmation, and correction. There is simply no room for excuse or debate with conditions that compromise health and safety. This is a matter of common sense and common ethics. To gamble on such matters, simply for the sake of completing a sale, is to gamble financial gain against people's lives.
One way to resolve this dispute would be to hire your own heating contractor to evaluate the furnace vent. You can propose to the seller that the contractor's fee will be paid by you if the home inspector's findings are found to be incorrect, but that the seller will pay if safety concerns are confirmed by the contractor.
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