By Barry Stone
Dear Barry,
When we sold our home, we disclosed every defect we could think of, as required by law. Now, the buyers say they have found cat urine stains on the carpet and are going to take us to small claims court unless we pay for new carpet. We're refusing to buy carpet because this is not a defect, and we never imagined it needed to be disclosed. The buyers even hired a home inspector and he said nothing about carpet stains in his report. What do you suggest we do? --Daniel
Dear Daniel,
Outrageous demands and frivolous lawsuits have become all too common occurrences in our daily business lives, and examples of this are often seen in the aftermath of real estate purchases.
If the carpet stains in this instance were truly significant, they would most likely have been noticed at some time during the course of the transaction, either by you, by your Realtor, or by the home inspector. And let's suppose they had been detected: Since when does a seller replace carpet simply because of stains, whether cat-induced or otherwise? If mere stains were enough to warrant new carpets for homebuyers, most houses would be re-carpeted during the course of an escrow. Carpet stains fall under the category of cosmetic defects, and typically warrant professional cleaning at most.
A reasonable response to the buyers would be an offer to share the cost of carpet cleaning. If you really want to be generous, you could pay for the entire cleaning job yourself. Either way, the buyers would be getting a fair deal. If all else fails, let the small claims judge decide.
It's sad when people so inflate a small problem that they deny themselves the joy and excitement of adjusting to their new home.
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