NRM ASSOCIATES INC

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: Mr. N[redacted] falsely claims that the roof repairs mandated by the ratified sales contract were "addressed by my roofers on several different occasions," and that I accepted the roof in "as is" condition. The sales contract signed by both parties clearly states that the “Seller (Mr. N[redacted]) will repair/replace damaged and missing slate tiles on main roof, and remediate sagging in roof decking.”Home inspector [redacted] could only assess damage visible from the street as he indicated to me that Washington, DC code does not allow home inspectors like him to use ladders tall enough to access a roof as tall as that of the Property.Mr. N[redacted] installed new gutters and a new upstairs addition to the house and installed a roof over it. He therefore had full knowledge of the condition of the roof.Mr. N[redacted] did not disclose the extremely poor condition of the roof. Had he done so, it would have significantly affected the terms of the sale.Mr. N[redacted] failed to adequately address this issue, only replacing a small number of natural slate tiles with plastic tiles that are neither the same material, size nor thickness. The work was so poor that it appeared to have been performed by a general contractor. To the present day, there are still numerous missing and broken tiles on the roof that Mr. N[redacted] never addressed, in violation of the sales contract, and replacing slate with plastic is not an adequate solution. Mr. N[redacted] had not addressed the problem at all prior to my February 8, 2017 pre-settlement walkthrough. Mr. N[redacted] has been uncooperative on this issueMr. N[redacted]’s real estate agent, [redacted], falsely claimed in a February 10, 2017 text message to my real estate agent that there was “never any mention of slates in the front. Only slates in the rear of house.” In addition to being factually false — I did mention problems that could be seen throughout the roof when standing from the ground when she met with [redacted] and Mr. N[redacted]’s contractor — her claim does not reflect the tenor of the sales contract, which clearly indicated that all, not some, missing and broken slate tiles were to be replaced. A professional roofer would have been able to easily identify all problematic tiles and see that the roof was severely deteriorated.In an email dated February 17, 2017 to my real estate agent, Mr N[redacted] stated:
“We inspected the roof yesterday, noting the areas indicated by the photos you included in the email. We did not find any areas of deficiency or unusual damage. This original roof appears to be in stable and good condition for its age, and shows no signs of compromise. The new roofing section is in excellent condition. As such, we do not intend to make any further additional roof related repairs to this house.”
On February 18, 2017, licensed roofer [redacted] inspected the roof of the Property. He indicated to me that the roof was in such poor condition that it needed to be completely replaced. He submitted a proposal for the work that would cost $19,000. In addition to the missing and broken tiles, he indicated there was rotten wood and sheathing on the main roof, an overhang on the rear of the house next to the chimney is damaged due to squirrels nesting, there is cracking on pipe collars, chimney flashing and the valleys are damaged. On March 10, 2017, field inspector [redacted] of [redacted] inspected the roof and made the same determination as Mr. Digiovanni, finding it was so severely damaged that it needed to be entirely replaced. [redacted] was inspecting the roof on behalf of [redacted] Insurance, as I sought to determine whether the damage could be covered by insurance. [redacted] claims representative, [redacted], who also was present at the Property, told me that the necessary repairs to the roof would not be covered under my insurance because the damage is too old and not caused by storms. As concerns the HVAC system, Mr. N[redacted] initially said he would remediate the problem. But following corroborating findings from both the home inspector, [redacted] of [redacted], and [redacted] Co., who inspected the system at my expense, that the problem was significant and costly, Mr. N[redacted] refused to do so.The inspections revealed that Mr. N[redacted] misinstalled the HVAC system, with faulty ductwork detected. [redacted] Co. provided a proposal for the work, costing up to $17,500. The faulty ductwork results in insufficient cooling and heating to various rooms on the Property. Mr. N[redacted] failed to disclose this problem prior to the sale of the Property.
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 In his Revdex.com complaint response, Mr. N[redacted] also states that "my workmen tested all drain lines to insure [sic] proper drainage" and that "all lines were running clear at time of closing." That statement also cannot be true given the findings by licensed plumbers from Flowright, who came to the property on three separate occasions between February 28, 2017 and March 10, 2017. [redacted] indicated to me that the recurring sewage backups were caused by an excessive amount of wipes and construction debris thrown down the toilet/drain. [redacted] had to snake the sewer line all the way to the street.I do not use wipes, and certainly did not throw debris down the toilet or drain, so this can only have been caused by Mr. N[redacted] and his workers who renovated the Property prior to the sale. Mr. N[redacted] did not disclose any problems with the sewer line prior to the sale of the Property.  In his response to my complaint, he also disingenuously states: "I personally have no idea what may or may not have occurred inside of or to the house after she took title -- as relates to her claim of stopped up drains; [sic] I cannot be responsible for or possibly know what she may have done to cause a sewage backup, as she claims occurred, post-closing." The sewage backup poses a significant health hazard.My real estate agent provided Mr. N[redacted] photographs of the sewage backup after it occurred.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
 
Attachments: Photographs of roof damage taken by [redacted], photographs of sewage backup, [redacted] Co. proposals for HVAC remediation, statements reflecting two of [redacted]s three visits to the property to address the sewage backup, inspection report of the property.
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This letter is in response to the complaint filed to your office on 2/27/17 by [redacted], concerning a house sold to her located at [redacted] Washington, DC [redacted]. The new owner of this property, [redacted], purchased this house on February 13, 2017.The only warranties included...

with this house purchase were the manufacturer's warranties for the new appliances in both kitchens, the new hot water heater, and the new central HVAC system. I was told by my real estate agent prior to closing that [redacted] was apprised of this and agreed, as is evidenced in the attached copy of the final addendum to the sales contract regarding inspection and repair items, as well as my providing a $3000.00 seller's credit towards her closing costs at settlement.As mentioned, this final (and fully executed) addendum, dated January 27, 2017, addresses specific inspection-related items to be repaired/remedied. Not included in this final addendum, is any inclusion or provision for roof replacement or HVAC replacement. Item #28, concerning missing or damaged roof tiles was addressed by my roofers on several different occasions. By her executing the closing documents, [redacted] agreed to accept the existing roof in "as-is' condition, regardless of what she is now claiming as findings from an outside roofer. Additionally, my workmen tested all drain lines to insure proper drainage. All lines were running clear at time of closing. I wanted to make sure we had addressed all of the items satisfactorily from this inspection list.[redacted] did not meet the contract terms by her failing to settle on or before February 10" 2017. She did finally make the required and necessary money deposits so that she could effect this closing on February 13th, which I accepted. At that point, [redacted] became the owner of this property and is responsible for all additional, non-warranty repair items going forward. personally have no idea what may or may not have occurred inside of or to the house after she took title - as relates to her claim of stopped-up drains; I cannot be responsible for or possibly know what she may have done to cause a Sewage backup, as she claims occurred, post-closing.Therefore, I am categorically denying any further obligations or responsibility for the claims made in [redacted]'s letter to the Revdex.com.Sincerely,Andrew N[redacted]

As requested, herein please find my responses to the complaints made by Ms. [redacted] regarding her alleged issues at her house located at [redacted] DC, 20007.1. Despite [redacted]'s false claims of contract breach regarding the roof; all terms andconditions set forth under the sales contract and subsequent addendum were both met and approved of by [redacted] prior to her closing on this house at [redacted] DC. This is clearly evidenced by her signature on the final addendum dated January 27, 2017, stating approval on this final addendum. Further, [redacted] was present at the house located at [redacted] DC on multiple occasions during the week prior to closing to personally inspect work being performed. Despite her false claims to the contrary, [redacted] had more than ample opportunity to withdraw from this purchase at any time should she object to the terms of purchase, instead, [redacted] negotiated through three (3) modifications of the home inspection addendum, after which she chose to complete the house purchase without further modification. 2. [redacted]'s home inspector provided to her a complete report on the house condition. [redacted]'s home inspector's report does not state, anywhere in its body, that the roof required replacement. It did state that the roof was old and in need of repairs - which repairs were performed by my workmen through our best efforts. Despite our best efforts, if there remain some additional damaged or missing roofing tiles would be amenable to review this item for further corrective action. To the best of my knowledge, there were no known leaks in the roof and we did not experience any roof leaks during the construction period and the sales period leading up to and including closing. 3. As regards [redacted]'s claims pertaining to a post-closing roofing estimate; hold no further obligation to make or pay for additional repair to her house, whether or not agree with [redacted]'s claim or cost of new roofing. This is clearly stated in [redacted]'s response noting post-closing dates of February 18th and March 10th as dates of alleged roofing inspections and roofing estimates. Regardless of these post-closing findings, there is no contractual obligation more than the agreed upon sales contract and approved addendum regarding this issue. 4. As regards [redacted]'s claims of a faulty/non-functioning HVAC system; specifically the estimate provided by [redacted] by the [redacted] Company on January 23rd, it clearly states that this estimate is for "improvements and upgrades". It does not state anywhere in this estimate that the existing HVAC system is either non-functioning or faulty. The home inspection report provided by [redacted], specifically on page c-4 referencing Page 12-13, states that corrective repair be made to ensure proper airflow throughout the house. These repairs were made subsequent to this finding, and prior to closing. [redacted] does not acknowledge these anywhere in her following complaints that these repairs have been made or have been reinspected by her home inspector. Again, we agreed to and made the correction to the item/deficiency as noted. 5. As this house, [redacted] DC, is an older property, as noted in the inspection report having been built in 1935, it is possible that the drain lines leading away from the house are at least that old. As such, older drain lines tend to accumulate Collective grease and other elements as may have been used by the prior owners of the property. As agreed on, instructed my workmen, and they performed snaking on all of the main interior and exterior drain lines prior to closing. All lines were reported as running clear and without impediment at time of [redacted]'s closing. To respond directly to [redacted]'s complaint of post-closing sewage backup; she falsely claims that her plumbing contractor-Flowright-indicated this backup was - - caused by "construction debris". Flowright's own handwritten invoice/report states that this backup was caused by excessive "wipes" and toilet paper. As stated in my original response to [redacted]'s complaint on this topic - as per my emails dated January 17th and February 27th - we did not experience and sewage backups during the construction, but as agreed on, did ensure all drain lines were clear prior to her closing on February 13th.Finally, I find [redacted]'s complaints to be both unsubstantiated and, as they were made entirely post-closing, all her own responsibility as the homeowner of [redacted] DC.Sincerely,Andrew N[redacted]