There is no moral to this story.  It's just one of those things that happened.

After a fairly tenuous three week period prior to the closing on an older home for my first time home buyer, I didn't think things could get any worse.  But they did.

It started when the attorneys for the buyer accused me of manipulating a legal document when my client corrected the purchase price that had erroneously been entered as "two hundred thousand dollars" when it should have been "two hundred thirty-five thousand dollars." 

Then, the bank appraisal came in at $9,000 under the offer price.  The lawyers advised my client to have the seller come down $6,000 and the brokers to give up $3,000 of their commission (this is not a joke!).  Their rational to my client - "no one pays a full commission of X% these days."

Well, we got that sorted out and the deal closed last Tuesday (the 15th).  I was happy for the buyer and presented him with a "platinum home warranty" from a national vendor.  I even paid down the deductible amount for him.  In my experience, it's so worthwhile to have this home warranty that covers systems and appliances for the first year of ownership.

So, it was to my dismay that I got a frantic call from the buyer on Friday night that his water heater had just burst!!!

 (example - this is not what the actual heater looked like)

"No Worries" I said.  "You've got a home warranty."

So we called the nice people at the home warranty company.

"We can't process a claim on this account, because we haven't received payment..." was their first response. 

"It's been 3 days since the house closed and I mailed the check yesterday!" I cry.

So, I got to experience what my clients always complain about with this particular company - being put on hold and speaking to less than customer service savvy people.

I concluded my 45 minute call with an agreement that my client ask a plumber to come out and call in the diagnosis.

"Rust throughout the tank" was the answer.

This is what the tank looked like at inspection .

The inspector, an ASHI member, commented that the water heater was approximately 5 years old and was in good working condition, although his inspection was limited to evaluating the exterior components and joints of the gas-fired water heater.

"Claim Denied." was the response from the Warranty Company.  "Why?" we asked.  "Pre-existing condition" and " this happened way too soon after the home purchase" were the answers.

Well, I am a Taurus which means that I am stubborn.  And I was ticked off that this wonderful warranty that I thought he had was full of caveats, etc.  So I called the national brand manager for the company to see if she could intervene.

The final answer came back today.  In part, it said the following, "We have reviewed this and all the information indicates the hot water heater was rusted out and therefore something that could, and should have been detected by the inspector.  Rust doesn't occur in a few days."

"We are sorry but we can't cover something that was not in good working order at the time of closing."

So what's my buyer to do now?  Go against the home inspector?  Good luck!

Just another day in the office, unfortunately.

I'm beginning to wonder if there is anything out there that could bear a reasonable resemblance to a stress-free transaction these days. 

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