How would you interpret this?

jrsmama2010

The e-mail we got from our lender said that we needed:

Receipt for Septic inspection and Pumping - buyer must show the funds to have this done - per Purchase and sale this is a buyer's expense

So we asked our REA: How do we go about/Can we ask if the seller would pay for the septic inspection and pumping? and he replied, "I will check with them"

Then I got an e-mail from him today:

 I had the septic system done yesterday and paid $1,100 for that task.  It was quite a bit more elaborate as the septic was under the driveway.  It is in great shape.

 

How do you interpret that?  Does it mean we need to pay him back for it?   

ETA:  I wish he would have told us the seller wouldn't have paid for it bc we can't afford to pay him back now since we had some extra bills come up, so we were going to walk away

jennylove1084

I think it sounds like it was taken care of for you, which is probably too good to be true.  I guess you'll have to ask if you need to pay for it. 

Janell's Nest

I think you're going to have to ask on that one...sorry.

As a real estate agent myself I'd never make an assumption that my buyer wanted me to do that, because it sounds like you still had and wanted to make a decision on whether to do it...and you were right in wanting to ask for the seller's to do that, it sounds like with out asking you, your agent took it upon themselves to just do it.  Hopefully they won't want to be paid back for it because then you'll be in the position to have to tell them that you would have walked away from the home if the seller's wouldn't have agreed.

Any good agent won't make you pay them, so hopefully things will get figured out...its also possible that the sellers agent and your agent worked out some reduction in commission or something to just "get it done"...which we quite often do if its a small item on a home that the buyers otherwise love.

May-Bride

I would ask him just to be sure, but it sounds to me like he paid for it and he expects you to pay him back. If that is the case, then I think splitting the cost would be a fair compromise, because you are both at fault. He shouldn't have had the inspection and pumping done without consulting you, but you should have been upfront with him about not being able to afford the house anymore.

jmbernadette

Just a quick note - "It is in great shape" is nice to know but not the equivilent of a formal report. 

Ask for the report - regardless of who pays for what.  

Our drains were also "in great shape" but what they forgot to add was "for being almost 90 years old"