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Disclosure dispute jeopardizes home sale

Q. I have an accepted offer to buy a home, but I'm ready to cancel the deal. My home inspector reported that exhaust from the forced-air furnace is spilling into the house. He said this is very hazardous and should be corrected by a licensed heating contractor, but the seller argued over this for several days. Finally, he called the gas company, but the gas man said the furnace is OK. My agent, however, learned that the gas man was never shown a copy of the home inspector's report and was never told about the exhaust problem. Instead, the gas company was asked to perform a routine check of the furnace. I'm so upset over this. Do you have any suggestions?

A. Home inspections often lead to haggling between buyers and sellers, but this is not a routine haggle. When safety issues are reported, factual resolution should be everyone's primary concern. Combustion exhaust in a home is particularly hazardous and should not be a point of contest when a home is being sold.

When safety issues are discovered or even suspected, whether they involve gas-burning fixtures, electrical wiring, fireplaces 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 debate when the conditions within a home compromise health and safety. This a matter of basic common sense.

One way to resolve the issue is to hire your own heating contractor to evaluate the furnace. You can propose to the seller that the contractor's fee will be paid by you if the furnace exhaust is adequately vented, but that the seller will pay if the home inspector's warning is confirmed by the contractor. If the seller is reasonable, that should be an acceptable offer.

Q. The bathrooms in my new home do not have exhaust fans for ventilation. When I questioned the builder, he said fans are not required because windows are provided instead. This seems like a slim excuse to me, because the bathrooms in my previous home were equipped with fans as well as windows. Aren't ceiling fans required for bathroom ventilation?

A. Your contractor is giving you the straight scoop. Bathrooms are required to have ventilation to the exterior, whether by means of an operable window or a mechanical vent, but there is no requirement to have both.

Windows are advantageous because they provide natural light and fresh air from the exterior. Mechanical ventilation is beneficial because it eliminates steam and bathroom odors more efficiently than an open window. With an exhaust fan it is also possible to vent a bathroom in the winter time, without letting cold air into the house.

If the bathrooms in your former home had vent fans and windows, that was an upgrade, not a requirement. If you'd like exhaust fans to be added to your new bathrooms, your builder can probably install them for an addition cost.

• To write to Barry Stone, visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com, or write AMG, 1776 Jami Lee Court, Suite 218, San Luis Obispo, CA 94301.

© 2019, Action Coast Publishing

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