My buyers have closed and the dishwasher is broken – now what?

My wonderful clients moved into their beautiful dream home; they purchased it from “flippers” & the dishwasher is a problem – it is leaking and according to the home protection company was improperly installed.

So the big question is: who is responsible? The easy answer is:

More than likely the seller; because during the inspection the seller had a dish rag on the floor near the dishwasher & this seems to indicate that the seller knew it was leaking and this may indicate that the seller was attempting to mask the defect… the inspector only tests the system so if the seller is sneakily drying up leaks... the inspector really wouldn’t know.

The home protection company has been contacted because if they will repair the dishwasher, this will be the quickest solution. We are waiting to hear back from the home inspection company’s evaluator. If the home protection company will not repair the dishwasher (and they may not because it is a “preexisting condition”) then the buyer must “look to the seller” – obviously it will be less money to settle in small claims court than to hire an attorney. W

ill keep you posted! Additional information regarding home protection plans and the home buying process, check out my Buyer's Guide.