NEED HELP! Cat Odor - UPDATE

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Posted by DjPiLL

MrsTC... i sent you a FM.

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back at ya

I got your FM. Glad that situation was worked out amically between the two of us.

I didn't want to reply back to you now directly through Forum Mail cause I feel this is information that would be beneficial to everyone to know.

My question may have sounded silly... but I didn't want to make anyone look dumb.

The reason why I asked... is because if you did not smell this when you looked at the house... then as far as I see it the house is DEFINITELY not in 'move-in' condition. This is ABSOLUTELY the responsibility of the seller to clean this smell up. No question. And I bet that its in your contract it says the premisis has to be in whats considered 'acceptable move-in condition'. Right now... its not and you have a case. You could argue this in many ways. The best way to do it could be to argue that its a serious health issue. Who wants to live in cat piss?

Anyways.... here is some advice for you that I would do.

First off... if your lawyer does not know about this situation... tell him/her ASAP!

Second off... I would totally cut off all communication you have with your seller. Your husband should NOT be negotiating terms regarding this cleanup with the seller. Do EVERYTHING through your lawyer. Thats what your lawyer is there for. He is there, basically to do your dirty work. Thats why I said above that you should have your lawyer play hardball with this guy. The lawyers know the laws. I betcha if your lawyer threatens this guy... he will cave in. If the seller asks you or your husband where you stand with this, politely say 'Please consult with my attorney on this'.

Third... your lucky this smell didn't downgrade your appraisal. But then again you say you don't have a committment from the bank yet so you never know. Many people get screwed with the bank on their appraisal coming in low. This may happen... so be prepared for the possibility. But that could also be a good thing cause if the appraisal comes in low... that puts more of a pressure for the seller to lower his price which would be in your favor.

Fourth... I mentioned this story to my girl who was born and raised in LI all her life... lived in houses... whereas I am an apartment city boy. I tend to think she is quite knowledgeable about stuff like contracting and upgrades and such. She is probably more handy than I am. She told me that $8000 to refinish and resand sounds a little high. Its either a HUGE house... and I mean HUGE... or you could probably get this done for cheaper. Check around.

Finally... if you want to do some research on your own... check out this website.

http://www.freeadvice.com

Its a good lawyer website where you can post a question asking about your situation. Just be warned though... as the lawyers that frequent that site know their stuff.... if you think I can be sarcastic with my answers... they can be ten times worse. They could tell you to just bail out completely and buy another house. But don't worry... it doesn't hurt to ask.

I hope this helps. If you need any help with this... just FM me. I feel bad for you. Something similar to whats going on with you happened to me on my last closing... but to a much lesser extent so I know how you feel.

And if it winds up that you actually do get the seller to pay for ALL of these repairs instead of the half that your husband proposed.... i'll waive my 10% consulting fee... but just this one time.

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Posted by DjPiLL

I got your FM. Glad that situation was worked out amically between the two of us.

I didn't want to reply back to you now directly through Forum Mail cause I feel this is information that would be beneficial to everyone to know.

My question may have sounded silly... but I didn't want to make anyone look dumb.

The reason why I asked... is because if you did not smell this when you looked at the house... then as far as I see it the house is DEFINITELY not in 'move-in' condition. This is ABSOLUTELY the responsibility of the seller to clean this smell up. No question. And I bet that its in your contract it says the premisis has to be in whats considered 'acceptable move-in condition'. Right now... its not and you have a case. You could argue this in many ways. The best way to do it could be to argue that its a serious health issue. Who wants to live in cat piss?

Anyways.... here is some advice for you that I would do.

First off... if your lawyer does not know about this situation... tell him/her ASAP!

Second off... I would totally cut off all communication you have with your seller. Your husband should NOT be negotiating terms regarding this cleanup with the seller. Do EVERYTHING through your lawyer. Thats what your lawyer is there for. He is there, basically to do your dirty work. Thats why I said above that you should have your lawyer play hardball with this guy. The lawyers know the laws. I betcha if your lawyer threatens this guy... he will cave in. If the seller asks you or your husband where you stand with this, politely say 'Please consult with my attorney on this'.

Third... your lucky this smell didn't downgrade your appraisal. But then again you say you don't have a committment from the bank yet so you never know. Many people get screwed with the bank on their appraisal coming in low. This may happen... so be prepared for the possibility. But that could also be a good thing cause if the appraisal comes in low... that puts more of a pressure for the seller to lower his price which would be in your favor.

Fourth... I mentioned this story to my girl who was born and raised in LI all her life... lived in houses... whereas I am an apartment city boy. I tend to think she is quite knowledgeable about stuff like contracting and upgrades and such. She is probably more handy than I am. She told me that $8000 to refinish and resand sounds a little high. Its either a HUGE house... and I mean HUGE... or you could probably get this done for cheaper. Check around.

Finally... if you want to do some research on your own... check out this website.

http://www.freeadvice.com

Its a good lawyer website where you can post a question asking about your situation. Just be warned though... as the lawyers that frequent that site know their stuff.... if you think I can be sarcastic with my answers... they can be ten times worse. They could tell you to just bail out completely and buy another house. But don't worry... it doesn't hurt to ask.

I hope this helps. If you need any help with this... just FM me. I feel bad for you. Something similar to whats going on with you happened to me on my last closing... but to a much lesser extent so I know how you feel.

And if it winds up that you actually do get the seller to pay for ALL of these repairs instead of the half that your husband proposed.... i'll waive my 10% consulting fee... but just this one time.

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thanks dude.....i was a little annoyed at my DH for going directly to the seller...but he was frustrated i guess (rolling my eyes).

By the way - does your 'girl' have a name?

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Posted by MrsTC

By the way - does your 'girl' have a name?

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Vanessa.

She laughs at me calling me a 'girl' for being on this site. But hey... if I didn't get off my arse planning this wedding... we wouldn't have gotten anywhere. But thats another story!

We still have a similar problem, but in the garage! The old homeowners had their cats litter box in the garage and the cats must have missed a few times. We never noticed it until we got the keys. Then it was too late to do anything. You can still smell it sometimes - mostly in the summer on really humid days.

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Posted by februarybride

You can still smell it sometimes - mostly in the summer on really humid days.

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Thats what Vanessa mentioned to me last night. If you can smell it now... wait till those really nasty summer days. Ugh!

Can you hose it down or something like that?

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Posted by DjPiLL

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Posted by MrsTC

By the way - does your 'girl' have a name?

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Vanessa.

She laughs at me calling me a 'girl' for being on this site. But hey... if I didn't get off my arse planning this wedding... we wouldn't have gotten anywhere. But thats another story!

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LOL - tell her to join

Below info may be helpful- this worked on our cement floors and hardwood floors. My parents used the product on their carpet.

Before you buy the product get a black light - the light will show precisely where the cat has urinated - it will show a yellow glow under the light - Hope this helps




The1•2•3 ODOR FREE™Kit
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thanks Kim