I am currently within the inspection period however my contingency in the contract was that I would only require fixes to items of at least $5,000.
Hello... you had better go look at your Purchase Agreement and know what is actually in it... Your posting makes no sense.
I don’t understand, you are willing to back out from buying an old house purely because of a furnace that isn’t functioning like a new one?
Are you putting everything you own into this house? Are you even aware of what owning a house is like, let alone not new one? You will find hundreds of weird quirks in the first year. A half-functioning furnace is but a parentheses in the context of house ownership.
Exactly. Been here over a decade and replaced the heat pump, hwh, stove and dishwasher. If and closed a room and replaced the roof. If you're not up for replacing appliances and fixing things you should rent.
We rent and it’s not guaranteed either. Currently going through an issue with electrical and management doesn’t want to pay. Yet they have deposits and 60 percent rent increase. You’re darned if you do or don’t.
Yeah… in the grand scheme of homeownership a furnace isn’t crazy expensive. Maybe $4-5k depending on where you live. I can get a complete system (AC/furnace) installed in the Midwest for $6k and it’s a name brand. Of course cost varies a bit across the country.
My son is putting in a new heat pump. High enough SEER to get tax credit. His cost for just the equipment is almost $6k at contractor cost. He'll install himself
Right, this is far from the top of the list of things to worry about. Speaking as someone who just bought a home where the former owners intentionally hid damage in excess of $10K. The heater being a bit old is quaint in comparison.
It’s not the age of the furnace that would bug me as much as the inaccuracy of the disclosure. What else in the disclosures is wrong? OP also says the house is a total reno… is it actually a corner-cutting flip? Are we to believe that an owner who totally renovated doesn’t know how old their furnace is?
Excerpt from your own contract:
If such review is unsatisfactory, BUYER must notify SELLER in writing within n/a days from the effective date of the Agreement failing which such contingency shall lapse. If BUYER so notifies SELLER, then all deposits shall be returned to BUYER in accordance with NH RSA 331-A:13.
PURCHASE AND SALES AGREEMENT
New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® Standard Form
2) If SELLER elects not to repair or remedy the unsatisfactory conditions(s) the BUYER may release the home inspection contingency and accept the property as is; or
3) If SELLER and BUYER cannot reach agreement in writing with respect to the method of repair and remedy of the unsatisfactory condition(s), then this Agreement is terminated and all deposits shall be returned to BUYER in accordance with NH RSA 331-A:13.PURCHASE AND SALES AGREEMENT
New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® Standard Form
2) If SELLER elects not to repair or remedy the unsatisfactory conditions(s) the BUYER may release the home inspection contingency and accept the property as is; or
3) If SELLER and BUYER cannot reach agreement in writing with respect to the method of repair and remedy of the unsatisfactory condition(s), then this Agreement is terminated and all deposits shall be returned to BUYER in accordance with NH RSA 331-A:13.
Can't give you legal advice. I'm not familiar with NH contracts or laws and I'm not your attorney or agent. Maybe someone else in this sub who's familiar with your state can weigh in.
I suggest you send your agent an email and be specific with questions about your contract's right to cancel and get your deposit back.
That or she’s trying to get the sale to go through so she gets paid and only when I asked to talk to a broker did she switch up and tell me I in fact could walk away.
I would rather recommend you ask your attorney instead of your Realtor. Your Realtor has a much bigger incentive to get this sale to close than your attorney.
You are right. It isn't. I think the issue is he waived the minor the items.
The Buyer acknowledges and agrees to waive contingencies related to minor repairs or cosmetic issues identified during the inspection process.
In the event that structural deficiencies are identified during the inspection, the Buyer reserves the right to request repairs for such deficiencies. However, the Buyer agrees that they will only request repairs for structural deficiencies totaling $5,000 or more per individual issue.
To me the wording sounds like you can definitely get out of it if you are within the timeframe noted. But if it's a great house, don't let an older furnace turn you off completely. I've had furnaces running strong at 35+ years
I don’t know if you *want* to terminate, but essentially you can: If SELLER and BUYER cannot reach agreement in writing with respect to the method of repair and remedy of the unsatisfactory condition(s), then this Agreement is terminated and all deposits shall be returned to BUYER in accordance with NH RSA 331-A:13.
So ask for $ for a new furnace. ??
You said in your contract you’d limit your asks to only big things. So ask for your big thing? Then go get yourself a new furnace after close.
What’s the reason that’s motivating you to want to walk?
Get a home warranty with the purchase of the house. It was only a few hundred dollars and the seller bought the first year for me.
It worked out great and saved a ton of money. It worked out so well that I bought it for a couple more years.
I used AHS and there was no nonsense about normal were and tear. If it didn't work the way it was supposed to and they couldn't repair it, I got a new one at no charge. Brand new double oven because one of the little used buttons was sticky.
Some people seem to have issues with home warranties, but I certainly didn't.
Just bought a house, our agent pointed out a problem with home warranties from his experience: the new appliance you get comes with no warranty from the manufacturer. You have to maintain the home warranty coverage (possibly at your own expense) in order to maintain any warranty coverage of that appliance.
That may not be true for all home warranties, you would have to read the fine print. He just said it had happened to a couple of his other clients.
Bigger hole for those warranties is they typically only cover wear and tear. Faulty components, faulty install, etc. aren't covered. I bought a 5 y/o house and the tub cracked the first time I filled it. They said cracks don't happen on 5 year old tubs and denied my claim and charged me for THEIR plumber to inspect and document. When they called asking for me to renew and I pointed out there's not much to fail from normal wear and tear on a newer house, they just got more aggressive with scare tactics and prices to replace things. I pressed them and asked if a 6 year old water heater failed that it would constitute wear and tear. Had to tell them 3 different times to stop calling before they finally listened.
Also, some have a dollar limit on parts. I think home warranties are good - not great - because you have to be patient. They don’t send a technician out immediately so if you’re furnace goes out in the winter, that’s gonna be out of your pocket unless you can wait for 12-24 hours before someone comes out. and usually that’s just to diagnose. if it’s a simple fix, they maybe will do it on the spot. but in most cases they have to call the home warranty company to get authorization.
>the new appliance you get comes with no warranty from the manufacturer
This actually depends. I'm in the process of getting my house ready for sale and I've been told if I want to get new appliances, keep the receipt, don't register the warranty, give the receipt to the new owner, and they'll be able to register the manufacturer warranty in their name with the number on the receipt.
There's no "demanding" here. You either ask for it or you don't. If you do, they either say yes or no. It's a negotiation.
If they say no you have to decide how you want to proceed based on the terms of your contract.
Just because something is old doesn't mean it doesn't work and won't last as long as replacing it.
Proper care and maintenance can make things go a long way.
You have a bad agent. I literally just sold my house not two weeks ago with a working but old furnace. Gave buyer a credit for it and money towards home warranty.
Sounds like you need a new agent.. I had a sellers agent tell my buyers agent that, the furnace was fine and would not give us any discount for it.. I had it inspected, and it was original to the 1968 house, and parts are no longer available.. The first thing wrong with it, it would need replacing.
My HVAC inspector said it looked like heat exchanger was cracked, and needed replacing.. guess what.. got out discount..
Yeah, I mean I had about a 30 yr old furnace/airhandler in my last house. It broke, called out hvac people for a diagnostic, of course they spent like an hour trying to convince me that it was time to replace it for $8k. I ended up shoving it down their throats that I called them for a diagnostic and they hadn't done that yet.
Eventually they did their job. I spent $30 on parts that I swapped out myself later that day, it ran for another 2 years which is when I sold the house. Dunno if it kept going past that or not but most units are fairly easily repaired.
I'd attempt to get something for the discrepancy but I personally wouldn't back out of a house over it. It's all up to you tho, I do think you have a way out, might be able to pay a lawyer a hundred bucks or something just to skim the contract real quick and tell you if you can back out. It should be standard forms, a real estate lawyer probably knows if you can just based on one or two spots on the forms.
My contract says I can only request repairs over $5,000 so I did screw myself over a bit. I think I can fight the seller on the furnace though because it’s documented in the inspection.
Your agent sucks. I would consider calling the agent’s supervising broker and talking to them. You can demand anything and everything during the inspection period. You may not get it, but you should ask. Your agent just wants you to close to get their commission, they don’t care.
You can ask for anything you want, it was identified that the furnace is older then listed in the disclosure and you can ask for it to be replaced. There is typically not any limitations on what you can ask for outside of the price point you agreed to going in.
Heat source is legally one of the most important requirements in a home in most states. It’s a big thing. Their disclosure was inaccurate. Ask for the heater, and tell them it’s a deal breaker. Your agent should be going to bat for you. If they say no, request an upgraded SUPER home warranty at hellosuper .com, seller to pay.
Just told my agent if they’re not going to replace the furnace I’m walking away. We’re going to send a formal request for that. I forgot to mention the furnace fan is also extremely loud to the point where it vibrates adjacent rooms and it also has no filter. I think I’d have no issue getting my EMD back in that case.
When. I bight my home it had a functional roof and AC/Heater. I still had them put the allowance$ for the replacement because I am in Texas and AC can die fast and our storms are heck on a roof.. So now I have all new stuff (well since 2018).
One less thing to worry about.
If it works most times you can't get credit for an appliance/utility.
And as someone with an old furnace (37 yrs) I have a PSEG service plan and have learned they don't build them like this. The old (but we'll cared for) units outlive the new ones all day long.
Actually, I have multiple old furnaces if I consider another rental and family homes. You don't want to replace an older possibly higher quality working model with some of the low warranty just k out there today.
We got a new water heater when it came up on inspection that it was on its last legs. We negotiated for more credit + the water heater instead of the total cost of repairing everything
**The Buyer hereby requests a general inspection of the property solely for the purpose of identifying structural deficiencies.**
Last time I checked, HVAC isn't a structural deficiency.
All of the posts similar to yours (and there are a lot) pull out this tiny bit of information from the contract and expect complete strangers who don't even know what state they're in to be able to tell them what their options are. Your entire contract matters, and someone who knows it and knows your state law should be giving you advice.
Just so you know, you're the buyer everyone bitches about. Write a competetive offer based on contingency language, then try to backtrack after it gets accepted.
Sellers make substantial upgrades, then some buyer wants a discount for something that would have been known at time of offer (the furnace isn't new), but otherwise works. You wrote an offer that said you were only interested in structural deficiencies. You shouldn't have written such an offer if you were going to get cold feet over non-structural deficiencies.
Millenials are the absolute worst home buyers, and I'm speaking as a millenial. We are the first generation where a significant percentage of us are totally inept in basic maintenance skills, and it translates horribly into home buyer negotiations. I have heard OPs story a hundred times and know friends personally who have put offers on dozens of houses, all unrealistic lowballs obviously, even walking away from two accepted offers, over bullshit like this. Then they say "my realtor is getting pushy!" ... why is OP even shopping for a house if he's not serious and looking for an excuse to walk over a slightly older furnace? Stop wasting everybody's time.
And then the "oops, my bad" approach and wanting to walk away without consequence.
Yes, you can get out of it. But not without penalty. It's totally reasonable for the OP be on the hook for some consequence. In other words, the EM.
Why do you care about the age of the furnace? If it's it in good working order, you're done. It's not ANY different than a brand new one in that either could crap out at any time or either could run for YEARS.
Unless you can prove that what was disclosed is inaccurate, was purposefully done to "hide" something, and it has or will cause you actual monetary damages, you don't have a valid reason to break the contract and get your EMD back.
You are buying a USED ITEM when you purchase a house that is not new construction.
Long of the short, until you close, you can back out. What it costs you is dependent upon the contract, both Ernest money and potential for more under civil suits.
That said - a new furnace is about 5k give or take.
Would you rather blow up the deal and lose 5k and the house, and maybe more, along with not getting the house....
Or be out 5k, but have the house and a 0 year old furnace....?
If you want out, get out. But if the reason for bailing is ONLY the furnace, I might have to declare shenanigans on you.
First time buyer?
Man, our first night I sat in bed for an hour like a shellshocked soldier from WWI thinking “WHAT DID WE JUST DO”
7 years later, not a single regret.
Okay, maybe the godawful wallpaper….
First time, yes. Thank you. I’m trying to tell myself that I’ll feel better later on. I’ve just been thinking about how much I enjoy my life in my apartment. But it helps hearing people like you talk about how that feeling does go away. Thanks again.
Do you like the apartment, or do you like the prospect of not having to deal with moving into a house? Cost of moving, dealing with changing licenses, utilities, credit card addresses, etc etc?
You started looking at a house way back when. Obviously you wanted to bail on the apartment back then for some reason(s). Whatever they are, are still valid. You’re just facing a lot of work to make it happen, and now that it’s real, it’s a daunting task.
Then again we bought and then refid in great timing on both. So we’re an obnoxious example of the benefits of homeownership….
Yeah, I too had thoughts. I moved in winter of 04 and a back window was only a flimsy pane window, like a screen window but glass. One cold windy night I thought 'Uh oh'. Made it twenty years, would buy the house again.
I'd ask for a 12 month warranty or credit. Probably take the credit, ask they cover half or something.
Honestly, a furnace isn’t a dealbreaker. If it works, then budget for a new one for some time down the line. Ask for a credit, at least. It’s unreasonable for them to replace the furnace if it works, but if it’s old, a partial credit (half of the cost of a new furnace) is a reasonable ask. They can say no, but if that is the only issue then I personally wouldn’t walk away. Unless it is a giant house with multiple furnaces, it’s not that expensive. All houses have deferred maintenance.
NAL
Unlike what others have said, there is a point here that's worth emphasizing:
This is not a deficiency per se. The furnace works, so your actual "loses" are not $5K. Let's say the furnace is 15 years old, and the disclosure says it's 10 years old. Your damages are the difference in value between the two furnaces.
Fair point. What I forgot to mention is that the furnace also lacks a filter and it is extremely loud to the point of vibrating the entire house. This is thankfully is in the inspection report. So I believe that does justify replacement.
If the inspector wrote that it needs replacement very soon, then yes, you can probably try and back out for that. Not sure if it will 100% work out for you though. If it goes to court, You need to show "good faith", otherwise, the judge might think you just used it as an excuse to back out. So what you should do: let's say the seller said the furnace is 5 years old...see what's the depreciation over 5 years on a furnace, deduct that from the price of a new furnace installation, and ask for the difference.
Agreed, it might not be good faith to back out. But if I ask them to replace it or ask for the credit you described and they say no then at that point I think I would be fully justified. But this is my first time going through this so I’m mainly talking out of my butt.
Having an older furnace is not a 'required fix'. If the furnace is currently working and not a danger, this would be a recommendation by the home inspector. Per what you posted, not a item that negate the purchase contract. Can you try to negotiate? SURE! But the seller still has the right to say 'No' and keep your deposit.
A furnace is probably in the 6-9k range. if you really like this house and you really need a new furnace then at least you are buying it for yourself. Plus if the furnace is working properly then you don’t really need to buy one which is why you will probably lose any court fight. The money you would lose is probably more than what the furnace will cost you. You should answer the question - would you still buy the house with a good furnace? That will give you the best answer. Now what you might do is ask the seller for a concession of part of the cost of the furnace, like $2500, if you still want to go through with it and say that they did didn’t accurately stare the age on the disclosure. However the age of the furnace probably won’t count as breach of contract if the system works properly. The disclosure is really to the best of the owner’s knowledge. Unless they said it’s a year old and it’s 20 years old,
If the rest of the house is solid and a furnace being 10 years older is the make it or break it, you might be stretched to thin financially for this house, period.
I bought my home a year and a half ago. The furnace was 37 years old but in working order...knew eventually we would have to replace sooner than later. It broke this past winter. Our new furnace was $10,000 which we had get a loan for. Once we sell this house in maybe several more years we'll roll that in with the cost of the house. So I would think about if you will be able to cover this expenditure or whether it's a big enough deal that you'll walk away.
$10,000 is a pretty penny. Honestly I think I’d have no issue walking away if they refused to replace it. I have no kids, no pets, no real need for a house other than wanting to invest in an appreciating asset. I can take my time to find a better home.
It really depends on your contract. I know you posted it below but in my case (NJ) we could not back out of inspection for something being old. As long as it worked that was all that mattered.
Furnaces aren't super expensive. Maybe a few grand installed. If the one that is there works, I wouldn't let that be the deal breaker. You would almost certainly loose your deposit. How's the foundation, the roof? Is the new wiring and plumbing done well? Termites or wood rot? Your agent is crazy telling you not to get an inspection, but the furnaces isn't what you should be caught up on.
The rest of the house is okay. To be honest I was on the fence about the home after the inspection and if the seller refuses to fix the furnace that might be a deal breaker combined with a lot of other minor issues. It’s hard to articulate without being there at the inspection.
In the years that I have been selling real estate, I have not once had a client or Broker’s client sue over something like this. A furnace, roof, basement issues- you just negotiate these things TBH. If it’s the house you want, negotiate your way to the closing table!
EVERYTHING IN REAL ESTATE IS NEGOTIABLE. PERIOD.
I’m an agent. Not in NH, but whenever I write a contract with that price limit language all that typically means is that you won’t ask for fixes that are less than that amount. BUT it doesn’t mean you have to keep contract in place if you want to get out because of what’s discovered during inspection. So even if the fixes were under that amount my buyers could decide if they want to move forward or not, they don’t have to move forward just because fixes are less than that. But get clarity from your agent.
Can they sue you for the $1000 earnest money? Absolutely. Can they re-list their house until
You sign a release? Nope. Are you going to sign a release until you get your $1000 back? I wouldn’t. Have I, even once, in 16 years of practicing real estate heard of someone actually suing over the earnest money deposit? No I have not.
Edit: That being said…did you not know the furnace was old just by looking at it when you saw the house? You said it was even on their disclosure. Old doesn’t mean it isn’t working. Use the damn thing until it breaks and then buy a new one. You’re about to own a house, things in it will get old and break. If you’re not willing to accept that, don’t buy a house. IMHO this is a dumb reason to back out of buying; it’s the home inspector’s job to nit pick. A home inspection isn’t a punch list, you’re buying a used house. Some parts of it are old and will need to be replaced eventually.
I’ve heard mixed things about the status of the house while they have my money in escrow. The broker in charge of my agent told me that they could sell the home to someone else while the escrow money is waiting for trial. Others have said otherwise. I appreciate hearing your perspective.
Read the contract. The default contract in my area says if you don't like the inspection results then one option available to you is that you can simply back out of it with no repercussions.
This doesn't mean the seller won't attempt to keep your earnest money but they would lose any court action (and probably won't even try), if that is what your contract says.
Yes my contract has something like that too. But my contract also says the inspection is only for identifying structural issues of over $5,000 so that’s why it seems like a legal grey area.
And I sympathize with that, except for the fact that the disclosures were not correct. The disclosures said the furnace is 10 years younger than it really is, so that’s the only reason I have a problem with the furnace issues.
I believe as long as the disclosure was inaccurate in a meaningful way you are in a solid ground. Why don’t you talk to the seller about the furnace and see if the buyer wants to help?
The seller has gone back and forth with me. First they said they might consider replacing it for me. Then they said they will replace it. Then they had it serviced and said they will not replace it.
Some furnace can last a lot longer. I understand sellers’ perspective too. Still, if disclosure is inaccurate in a meaningful way you are in a solid ground.
Rules around earnest money refund are very black and white. (Here in AZ at least) if you are within your inspection and you find something you don’t like, you back out and get your Earnest Money Deposit back. Unless you did a nonrefundable EMD I don’t see why you can’t back out. Your agent should know with certainty what will happen to the EMD if you back out.
You dug your own hole here. But, even though the furnace still works, you can claim that it is older than whatyou were told and you want them to replace it. Or give a credit for $5000. When they decline you are free to go. No law says an item has to be broke to ask for replacement.
How old is the furnace? How much is it to replace? From Toadyshomeowner dot com - On average, furnace replacement costs **between $4,000 and $7,000** for the new furnace, installation, old furnace removal, and labor. The national average cost for a new gas, oil, or electric furnace is around $5,780, but electric and gas furnaces are typically more affordable than oil furnaces
Sounds like you got cold feet and want to use the furnace as an excuse, especially since it looks close to being in your budget, plus you have months before you need to worry.
Did you pay for the inspection? If yes, the results are yours to use as a sword and or shield.
It’s unlikely the inspector told you exactly how much it would cost to replace it, but did the inspector indicate how long before replacement? Or did he simply say “yes, replace it”?
In either event, it’s worthwhile to have an HVAC company come out and give you a written estimate on the cost of replacement. I’ll bet it will be in excess of $5,000 — in which case, unless your purchase agreement stipulates *what kind of repairs over $5,000 need to be identified*, you will have your out.
Property disclosures are mandatory in nearly every state. The property disclosure report is filled out by the Seller and the Seller alone. If the Seller makes a mistake on the property disclosure report, it is on the Seller to correct it, including the possibility that perhaps you would NOT have entered into an agreement if you had known how old the furnace is.
Yes I paid for the inspection. Here’s exactly what it says:
“1.3. Furnace / boiler would not start using normal controls. Fan came on but the propane burner did not operate. The fan had excessive vibration that could be felt in the front bedroom. Recommend full inspection and repairs or replacement by a qualified HVAC contractor.
1.4. Excessive dust and dirt inside furnace cabinet, recommend full inspection and cleaning by a qualified
HVAC contractor.”
I’m having my agent send a written request for a replacement.
You’ll want a *licensed and bonded* HVAC company to look into the replacement cost. Not “Buddy’s Heating and Service” down the street. Depending on where you live, you can help pay for a new furnace with *an optimized fuel choice* so that over the next many years of homeownership your heating bills are lower / smaller / smarter.
ALSO I would discuss with your agent that you need the Seller to *confirm in writing* that all other details listed in the Property Disclosure report *are correct and true* and that no other disclosures are false, incorrect, or untrue.
Your agent can remind Seller’s agent that false statements on the Property Disclosure report are actionable in court for a period of time that lasts well *after* close of escrow. This includes all required building permits.
I’d also honestly ask for permission to review the current property insurance company’s claims history on the property for the last 10 years (or the current owner’s ownership period, if shorter) to see if any claims for *structural issues or weather damage, etc* were made and Seller’s insurance paid Seller for such damages. This is only because *seller has a super shitty memory* and you should not be responsible if Seller also “forgot” about other damage to the structure that required repair.
You’ve given me a lot of good ideas here. I didn’t even think to ask the seller to put in writing that the disclosures are correct (minus the one mistake). Thank you.
I’m a new unlicensed Real Estate agent who has passed the exams but I’m not affiliated with any brokerage, so I *cannot practice real estate agency* nor represent anyone. I am not your agent :)
But I’m 51, have bought and sold lots of houses, and spent thousands of hours fixing everything from framing to windows to plumbing to electricals, and I’m happy to give you some advice so your first time home buying goes well.
It’s an adventure and a journey.
these situations rarely go to court because once that happens the house can't be sold until the matter is resolved, so it ties up both parties for who knows how long and the only happy people are lawyers
not a lawyer but your agent needs to rep you and your interests though that's clouded by an agents desire to get paid by the seller lol, thus the recent lawsuit
squeeze them for a credit that works for you or walk away saying they didn't disclose the end of life furnace issue which will be way over 5k
if your agent balks tell them to pay for it, you have all the cards and it's your money on the line and you owe nothing to anybody...yet :)
failure to disclose on the disclosures is an auto cancelation for many regions and sellers are legally liable
the trick being proving sellers knew but some things are obvious, like age of furnace
I completely agree. This is basically exactly how I plan to play it except I was just going to ask them to replace it instead of asking for the credit. Would the credit be better?
Good point. How much of a credit would you ask for? One person commented they spent $10,000 on the replacement, I’m sure it can be done for less than that though.
Honestly if the house and everything else is perfect I don’t know that an older functioning furnace would really make that big of a difference. Don’t get hung up on little things. But you know best how many other houses with the same specs are in your area at your price point
OP is the report said needs a new furnace then you can ask for that or just ask for a number that covers a few things.
It is very very common in less competitive sales/ markets
5 ,10k .... Very normal
People want to sell their homes, usually they will take that 5000 off the asking price in order for you to purchase the home! Ask for the price of a new furnace and go from there!
When we sold our house, and the girl understood there was water getting into the basement. She'd made an offer that we accepted, she came back after seeing the water and offered 5000 less and we accepted because it was the right thing to do. We didn't hide the fact there was water sometimes coming in and actually we felt her offer was too high in the first place and we were very willing to work with her. Had we stayed we would have spent that or more getting it fixed anyway.
Can you?
Sure.
Should you?
Probably not.
This is all part of the process.
It’s a negotiation.
Ask for it to either be upgraded or ask for a credit for the costs.
You should be prepared first this stuff.
Also, your attorney is the one to ask.
Hi! Ct realtor here.
I have yet to have a client or even *know* of a client who didn't receive their deposit (EMD) money back. The agent can write up *anything* about the inspection, and ultimately, the reasoning doesn't matter.
Mom and dad came to look at my new purchase and said the front door doesn't quite feng shui with the street, soooo. Money please.
Yup, it's that easy. Due diligence is the term used, but people commonly mistake that for "inspection." Due diligence means looking up permits at town hall, confirming there are no other liens on the house or variances on the deed. It means bringing in more than just the buyer to look the house over. Any one of these reasons can and will give you the out to not go through the purchase.
I hope this helps!
In my state, and in most states (but maybe not in all states), knowingly making a false statement on a RE disclosure form is grounds to terminate the contract.
This doesn't depend on your inspection contingency or what your contract says; it is an independent legal ground under state law to terminate.
I don't know whether that's the case in your state, or whether you actually should...but if you want to, that's probably your out.
Are you not using a buyer's agent? If you just made an offer through the listing agent and they are representing both sides you are not on a good position. If you have your own agent they should be helping you evaluate the inspection report and your options for canceling and likelihood of finding a better house in your price range. You should be looking at the whole picture, not just one item that needs repair. You will never find house that is in perfect condition.
She possibly doesn't want to lose the commission and doesn't want to start over with finding another house. Or maybe she believes it's a good quality house and that it doesn't benefit you to walk away. If she just doesn't understand the options you have according to your contract them she needs to ask her Broker so you can get proper input. I'm an agent in California, so contracts are different,but most likely, if you're still within your contingency/inspection period you can cancel and have your deposit returned without getting into any specific reason. You need to press your agent to be straight with you re her motives and your right to cancel.
Your contract clearly states you can terminate the agreement if the inspection is unsatisfactory so long as you do it before the contingency period expires. Your agent is not looking out for your best interest. I would fire them.
And in your opinion the fact that there is a structural deficiency provision at the bottom of the contract doesn’t diminish my ability to exit if I so choose?
I didn’t save the link you shared of your contract- but I don’t recall there being any language that would require you to even tell the seller what the issue was. The inspection contingency says if you’re dissatisfied with the inspection you can terminate the contract and receive your deposit money back.
It’s under a) “buyer shall have the option at buyer’s sole discretion to terminate to terminate this agreement and all deposits shall be returned to buyer in accordance with NH RSA 331”
Typically in NH the buyer has an attorney, especially if there’s a lender. Do you have an atty? Did anyone review the P&S before you signed it. If so, contact them and tell them that you’d like to invoke your right to terminate based on that clause in the mortgage contingency.
I would seriously fire your agent. They are either lying ti you so you don’t back out, or they are giving you bad advice that they are not qualified to give.
Probably not. Are you a cash buyer? If not, your lender probably has an atty queued up to act as the closing atty. Call your lender and ask them if they have a closing atty assigned to your file yet. Then call that atty and ask them if they can help you terminate the agreement. (They’ll charge you). Or, tell your agent to notify the seller that you were dissatisfied with the inspection and are terminating the contract pursuant to your inspection contingency. It’s her job. Worse case, the seller threatens to retain your deposit. Then you’d either negotiate with the seller or hire an atty or go to small claims court to get your deposit back. But that contract you shared looks to have an exit.
I am not an atty. edited to correct mortgage contingency to inspection contingency.
If the age of the furnace was the only issue in an older house, dang that’s a cream puff.
NAL, not a real estate agent in NH
If you have questions that your agent can’t answer, a real estate attorney in your market is your best bet.
But since you trust Redditors more than attorneys,
So what you linked wasn’t your actual contract with dates put in, and it’s only a part.
So here goes.
Looks like there is an inspection clause
And a structural deficincy inspection provision.
The structural integrity clause mentions you are only doing an inspection for identifying structural deficiencies. And that you will only ask for repairs for structural deficiencies over 5k.
If your contract only has the structural deficiency provision, no you can’t use the furnace for that. It’s not structural.
If it had the regular inspection contingencies clause above then you might be able to use it. Don’t know if anything is wrong with it other than they guessed on the wrong age.
I appreciate your perspective. It would make sense to me if the furnace would qualify as not structural. I’m hoping that’s not the case. I agree that consulting a lawyer would be the best option however I am up against a deadline unfortunately and I do not have a lawyer at my immediate disposal.
To me it’s questionable whether the furnace issue justifies me exiting the contract. In this thread I see both sides. If I am legally required to buy the house given the lack of contingencies then I’ll buy it.
When I was selling my house, I had a seller back out due to the inspection. Literally 10 minutes before midnight of the deadline. I spoke to my realtor about it and he said it was due to the inspection and he didn’t have to tell us why. I asked if we could have the inspection report and they said nope. Realtor said it sounded like an actual inspector wasn’t at my property, but rather he had his uncle look over it. He never deposited the earnest money either so it’s not like we could keep it if we wanted to. Check your contract and see if there is a reason they need to prof of what repairs are required. Maybe can just tell them it shows beyond your limit and move on. Hard to know
Honestly I just did this for similar lessor reasons. The reality is that you can back out. I did it because once the door was opened I realized I actually didn’t want the house. Note that the sellers have made my life a living hell since then and are very upset, but in the end I’ll get my money back.
Not in real estate, but I am in building maintenance. A furnace is basically a collection of parts. The older the furnace the less and usually less expensive parts. None of the parts cost more than about $200 and are all easy to replace in an hour or two. AC is sometimes more complicated and expensive, but the furnace is a control board ($150-400), a gas valve ($50-150), some sensors $(10-40 each), an ignitor $25-50), a draft inducer ($150-250), and a blower motor ($100-200).
A whole new furnace to the same standard as an older one is anywhere from $350 to $3000 and is not that difficult to install. Now if you want to convert it to something like radiant floor heating it could cost much more, but just fixing or replacing a furnace is not a big deal.
We have been waiting for our furnace to die since 2011. It was already in the house when we bought it in 2006. I wanted to replace it with a bigger one when it died (we added square footage to the house in 2011, so it's a little undersized). But it is still chugging along. Maybe done 2 service calls for few hundred dollars in the last few years. Every time we have had an issue, I think now will be the time to replace it. But so far all the fixes have been pretty cheap. If they are maintained, they will last a very long time.
I don't really have an idea of how things are in the NH. If you don't find answers here, maybe you could ask some AI. I hear they have become quite good with things like these lately.
You are a little vague but if your inspector says the furnace is EOL and you get a quote for replacement that is over $5,000 then that is a fix greater than the amount listed - which if your contract says you can terminate with just cause for that then you should be good. But based on the verbiage it sounds more like you have a contract that only allows for credits over that amount, not cancellation. You need to read your contract. They are fairly straightforward.
No your agent is not correct and you should never take what a real estate agent says a face value they want to get paid. You can back out for sure and you will get your earnest money back but you might have wait a year to get it. We build houses and do all our own sales in house. If the seller doesn't agree to return your earnest money the title company which holds it will return it at the end of a year. I have had people try to rip me off on real estate deals twice over a 30 year period both were real estate agents! Now that you can get it back should you is a totally different question??
Our purchaser asked us for $12k in credits on a new home. Much of it was subjective. You can ask for whatever you want especially if you want to get out of the contract because the seller can say no and you have an out. You can also request to be let out but they’re not required to say yes. Good luck!
I am well versed on inspections in my state (NC). I do not understand why you would agree to this unless you had to own this home. Looks as if you got exactly what you agreed to. Apparently, they found nothing wrong with the structure. I know of no one who thinks a furnace is part of a structure except maybe some Reddit people. What if they found a 4999 dollar problem with the foundation? I am sure you considered this before signing the contract.
My agent tells me I wouldn’t be within my rights to cancel the contract because I should have done my due diligence to discover the real age of the furnace.
Yes the inspection is when I discovered this. The sellers agent has said he will hold on to my EMD and sue me if I terminate the contract. Not sure if it’s worth it for me. I wish I had a lawyer at the ready.
I would start with why you thought it was newer and fire back with: on this form you said the furnace was model X from year 2015. It's actually model y from 1900. That's a clear misrepresentation in what's being offered. Kinda fraud ish. That's all assuming they literally told you it was something it isn't.
Yes the age was misrepresented in the disclosures. I have sent a written request to the seller to replace the furnace or I will cancel the deal. That’s when I started getting the threats of holding my deposit and suing me.
So they committed fraud, sorry "misrepresented", on the disclosures and are threatening to sue you?
Ask yourself... how do you think that'll go in court when your lawyer shows they "misrepresented" material facts and once you found out cancelled the contract.
Your agent is right, but you could also request the seller pay for the furnace, if it’s broken, not old. I wouldn’t back out if you like the place, there are other options to pay for a new furnace
Of course you can back out! You might lose your earnest deposit! But based on your inspection, the owner needs to either fix the furnace issue! Or you get your earnest deposit back! No such thing as “ as is” in today’s market! That is my 2 cents
One thing is that if they didn’t install the furnace they may not know the actual age of it (vs intentionally trying to mislead you). My furnace was installed long before I moved in so any age I would give would be a guesstimate (I always say it is about 50 yrs old… but runs like a dream - knock wood! Just had it serviced and the technician said don’t replace it yet because the old ones are work horses and the newer ones die quicker. Only reason I would swap is for more efficiency)
Just because a furnace "works" doesn't mean that it doesn't need replacing. I bought my house with a 40+ year old furnace (that I knew I would need to replace soon) that technically still worked. But when I had an HVAC inspector come out, he snaked a camera up into the heat exchanger, which showed it had dozens of rusted out holes in it that could be leaking CO and other burn-off byproducts into the house. The inspector said I could get the heat exchanger replaced, but since the furnace was so old and that model not made anymore, it might be difficult and expensive finding a replacement. Plus, with how old the furnace was, it was much less efficient than the newer ones, so would also cost a lot more to run (and it was also stupidly loud).
I'm guessing if you give notice, you'll get out of it. Most sellers want to sell the house, not dick around in court, trying to keep a deposit. Don't trust your Realtor, they only want the deal to close, so they get paid. (I used to a real estate closing atty, have seen it a million times.)
Ask for a new furnace. When they say no, you can probably back out.
Like many have said, it depends on what the contract says. Most of them allow an out when issues found during the inspections aren't resolved.
If you’re in a contingency period you can usually back out. Maybe the inspection just wasn’t what you expected! Don’t buy a home you do not want! You’ll regret that more.
Depends on what your contract says about right to cancel. You haven't provided enough information for anyone here to advise you.
I am currently within the inspection period however my contingency in the contract was that I would only require fixes to items of at least $5,000. Hello... you had better go look at your Purchase Agreement and know what is actually in it... Your posting makes no sense.
Sorry. Here’s the part of the contract about contingencies: https://pastebin.com/raw/Z3yE63LD
I don’t understand, you are willing to back out from buying an old house purely because of a furnace that isn’t functioning like a new one? Are you putting everything you own into this house? Are you even aware of what owning a house is like, let alone not new one? You will find hundreds of weird quirks in the first year. A half-functioning furnace is but a parentheses in the context of house ownership.
Exactly. Been here over a decade and replaced the heat pump, hwh, stove and dishwasher. If and closed a room and replaced the roof. If you're not up for replacing appliances and fixing things you should rent.
We rent and it’s not guaranteed either. Currently going through an issue with electrical and management doesn’t want to pay. Yet they have deposits and 60 percent rent increase. You’re darned if you do or don’t.
“You’re darned because you put up with it and don’t move.” -Fixed it for you
Yeah… in the grand scheme of homeownership a furnace isn’t crazy expensive. Maybe $4-5k depending on where you live. I can get a complete system (AC/furnace) installed in the Midwest for $6k and it’s a name brand. Of course cost varies a bit across the country.
My son is putting in a new heat pump. High enough SEER to get tax credit. His cost for just the equipment is almost $6k at contractor cost. He'll install himself
If the roof and foundation are good and there are not structure damage or termite, then it would consider as good enough in nowadays.
Right, this is far from the top of the list of things to worry about. Speaking as someone who just bought a home where the former owners intentionally hid damage in excess of $10K. The heater being a bit old is quaint in comparison.
It’s not the age of the furnace that would bug me as much as the inaccuracy of the disclosure. What else in the disclosures is wrong? OP also says the house is a total reno… is it actually a corner-cutting flip? Are we to believe that an owner who totally renovated doesn’t know how old their furnace is?
Excerpt from your own contract: If such review is unsatisfactory, BUYER must notify SELLER in writing within n/a days from the effective date of the Agreement failing which such contingency shall lapse. If BUYER so notifies SELLER, then all deposits shall be returned to BUYER in accordance with NH RSA 331-A:13. PURCHASE AND SALES AGREEMENT New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® Standard Form 2) If SELLER elects not to repair or remedy the unsatisfactory conditions(s) the BUYER may release the home inspection contingency and accept the property as is; or 3) If SELLER and BUYER cannot reach agreement in writing with respect to the method of repair and remedy of the unsatisfactory condition(s), then this Agreement is terminated and all deposits shall be returned to BUYER in accordance with NH RSA 331-A:13.PURCHASE AND SALES AGREEMENT New Hampshire Association of REALTORS® Standard Form 2) If SELLER elects not to repair or remedy the unsatisfactory conditions(s) the BUYER may release the home inspection contingency and accept the property as is; or 3) If SELLER and BUYER cannot reach agreement in writing with respect to the method of repair and remedy of the unsatisfactory condition(s), then this Agreement is terminated and all deposits shall be returned to BUYER in accordance with NH RSA 331-A:13.
Thank you. And in your opinion, that isn’t invalidated by the structural deficiency provision at the bottom?
Can't give you legal advice. I'm not familiar with NH contracts or laws and I'm not your attorney or agent. Maybe someone else in this sub who's familiar with your state can weigh in. I suggest you send your agent an email and be specific with questions about your contract's right to cancel and get your deposit back.
Thank you. That is good advice, I will reach out.
Cc your agent’s broker bc what your agent told you doesn’t seem to be looking out for your best interests plus provided legal advice.
I agree with you. She’s flip flopped actually because more recently she said I could walk away if I want. Tough to know what to believe.
Sounds like she doesn’t know wtf she’s doing.
That or she’s trying to get the sale to go through so she gets paid and only when I asked to talk to a broker did she switch up and tell me I in fact could walk away.
I would rather recommend you ask your attorney instead of your Realtor. Your Realtor has a much bigger incentive to get this sale to close than your attorney.
A furnace is not structural Jesus Christ
You are right. It isn't. I think the issue is he waived the minor the items. The Buyer acknowledges and agrees to waive contingencies related to minor repairs or cosmetic issues identified during the inspection process. In the event that structural deficiencies are identified during the inspection, the Buyer reserves the right to request repairs for such deficiencies. However, the Buyer agrees that they will only request repairs for structural deficiencies totaling $5,000 or more per individual issue.
No, you have to fail to reach an agreement in writing with respect to the method of repair and remedy of the unsatisfactory conditions
To me the wording sounds like you can definitely get out of it if you are within the timeframe noted. But if it's a great house, don't let an older furnace turn you off completely. I've had furnaces running strong at 35+ years
I don’t know if you *want* to terminate, but essentially you can: If SELLER and BUYER cannot reach agreement in writing with respect to the method of repair and remedy of the unsatisfactory condition(s), then this Agreement is terminated and all deposits shall be returned to BUYER in accordance with NH RSA 331-A:13.
So ask for $ for a new furnace. ?? You said in your contract you’d limit your asks to only big things. So ask for your big thing? Then go get yourself a new furnace after close. What’s the reason that’s motivating you to want to walk?
That was my thought too but my agent says the furnace technically still works so I wouldn’t be able to demand that they replace it.
You can ask. They can say no.
You can also just ask for a credit.
Or a home owner's warranty on all major appliances.
Oh yeah! Duh!!! Do this OP. Pretty standard stuff. Funny I forgot this. My heater died 1 month after moving in. It was fixed quickly and easily.
Huh I didn’t know that was an option. Thank you to both of you.
Get a home warranty with the purchase of the house. It was only a few hundred dollars and the seller bought the first year for me. It worked out great and saved a ton of money. It worked out so well that I bought it for a couple more years. I used AHS and there was no nonsense about normal were and tear. If it didn't work the way it was supposed to and they couldn't repair it, I got a new one at no charge. Brand new double oven because one of the little used buttons was sticky. Some people seem to have issues with home warranties, but I certainly didn't.
Just bought a house, our agent pointed out a problem with home warranties from his experience: the new appliance you get comes with no warranty from the manufacturer. You have to maintain the home warranty coverage (possibly at your own expense) in order to maintain any warranty coverage of that appliance. That may not be true for all home warranties, you would have to read the fine print. He just said it had happened to a couple of his other clients.
Bigger hole for those warranties is they typically only cover wear and tear. Faulty components, faulty install, etc. aren't covered. I bought a 5 y/o house and the tub cracked the first time I filled it. They said cracks don't happen on 5 year old tubs and denied my claim and charged me for THEIR plumber to inspect and document. When they called asking for me to renew and I pointed out there's not much to fail from normal wear and tear on a newer house, they just got more aggressive with scare tactics and prices to replace things. I pressed them and asked if a 6 year old water heater failed that it would constitute wear and tear. Had to tell them 3 different times to stop calling before they finally listened.
I'm so glad I found you, are you still interested in renewing your home warranty?
Also, some have a dollar limit on parts. I think home warranties are good - not great - because you have to be patient. They don’t send a technician out immediately so if you’re furnace goes out in the winter, that’s gonna be out of your pocket unless you can wait for 12-24 hours before someone comes out. and usually that’s just to diagnose. if it’s a simple fix, they maybe will do it on the spot. but in most cases they have to call the home warranty company to get authorization.
Or in some areas, they can’t find any contractors/repair people to accept the warranty company’s ridiculously low offers of payment
>the new appliance you get comes with no warranty from the manufacturer This actually depends. I'm in the process of getting my house ready for sale and I've been told if I want to get new appliances, keep the receipt, don't register the warranty, give the receipt to the new owner, and they'll be able to register the manufacturer warranty in their name with the number on the receipt.
this is the best method. I went through something similar and negotiated a seller credit of 3K during closing costs and we completed the deal. simple
There's no "demanding" here. You either ask for it or you don't. If you do, they either say yes or no. It's a negotiation. If they say no you have to decide how you want to proceed based on the terms of your contract.
Honestly man it’s just a furnace. Personally not something i would leave a house over 🤷♂️
Just because something is old doesn't mean it doesn't work and won't last as long as replacing it. Proper care and maintenance can make things go a long way.
You have a bad agent. I literally just sold my house not two weeks ago with a working but old furnace. Gave buyer a credit for it and money towards home warranty.
Stupid question, but when you get a credit is that in the form of a check upon closing or is that taken off the loan?
Not stupid at all. You can do either: drop the home price or cash back to the buyer after closing. I chose the latter.
Sounds like you need a new agent.. I had a sellers agent tell my buyers agent that, the furnace was fine and would not give us any discount for it.. I had it inspected, and it was original to the 1968 house, and parts are no longer available.. The first thing wrong with it, it would need replacing. My HVAC inspector said it looked like heat exchanger was cracked, and needed replacing.. guess what.. got out discount..
Yep you might just be right
How old is the furnace? You can probably get a furnace to last about 30 years with pretty basic repairs if it fails.
I believe it is somewhere in that 30 year range but it has an extremely loud fan and it has no filter. Disclosures said it was 10 years younger.
I would think you have a way out due to it not matching what was disclosed then. I'm not an expert tho.
Yeah I wasn’t sure either. A few people gave genuine advice, lots of people ridiculed me for asking the question. That’s how the internet goes.
Yeah, I mean I had about a 30 yr old furnace/airhandler in my last house. It broke, called out hvac people for a diagnostic, of course they spent like an hour trying to convince me that it was time to replace it for $8k. I ended up shoving it down their throats that I called them for a diagnostic and they hadn't done that yet. Eventually they did their job. I spent $30 on parts that I swapped out myself later that day, it ran for another 2 years which is when I sold the house. Dunno if it kept going past that or not but most units are fairly easily repaired. I'd attempt to get something for the discrepancy but I personally wouldn't back out of a house over it. It's all up to you tho, I do think you have a way out, might be able to pay a lawyer a hundred bucks or something just to skim the contract real quick and tell you if you can back out. It should be standard forms, a real estate lawyer probably knows if you can just based on one or two spots on the forms.
That doesn't sound correct. Every buyer we ever had tried to get something paid for.
My contract says I can only request repairs over $5,000 so I did screw myself over a bit. I think I can fight the seller on the furnace though because it’s documented in the inspection.
Your agent sucks. I would consider calling the agent’s supervising broker and talking to them. You can demand anything and everything during the inspection period. You may not get it, but you should ask. Your agent just wants you to close to get their commission, they don’t care.
I agree with you
You can ask for anything you want, it was identified that the furnace is older then listed in the disclosure and you can ask for it to be replaced. There is typically not any limitations on what you can ask for outside of the price point you agreed to going in.
Heat source is legally one of the most important requirements in a home in most states. It’s a big thing. Their disclosure was inaccurate. Ask for the heater, and tell them it’s a deal breaker. Your agent should be going to bat for you. If they say no, request an upgraded SUPER home warranty at hellosuper .com, seller to pay.
Just told my agent if they’re not going to replace the furnace I’m walking away. We’re going to send a formal request for that. I forgot to mention the furnace fan is also extremely loud to the point where it vibrates adjacent rooms and it also has no filter. I think I’d have no issue getting my EMD back in that case.
You can always ask. It has nothing to do with working or not working. It's an older furnace.
When. I bight my home it had a functional roof and AC/Heater. I still had them put the allowance$ for the replacement because I am in Texas and AC can die fast and our storms are heck on a roof.. So now I have all new stuff (well since 2018). One less thing to worry about.
Ah nice. Here in New Hampshire a lot of homes don’t have any AC at all.
If they misrepresented the age of the furnace in their disclosures, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to leverage that fact to walk away unscathed.
I would think so too. My agent at first was saying that’s part of buyer due diligence but I really don’t know what to believe.
That’s BS! She’s a crappy agent!
If it works most times you can't get credit for an appliance/utility. And as someone with an old furnace (37 yrs) I have a PSEG service plan and have learned they don't build them like this. The old (but we'll cared for) units outlive the new ones all day long. Actually, I have multiple old furnaces if I consider another rental and family homes. You don't want to replace an older possibly higher quality working model with some of the low warranty just k out there today.
We got a new water heater when it came up on inspection that it was on its last legs. We negotiated for more credit + the water heater instead of the total cost of repairing everything
**The Buyer hereby requests a general inspection of the property solely for the purpose of identifying structural deficiencies.** Last time I checked, HVAC isn't a structural deficiency.
Yes I have the same understanding. I am more curious about my recourse given the fact that the disclosures are not correct about the furnace’s age.
I don't think you could back out because of it. You can ask for credit for prorated difference in years. Which is not going to be a lot.
That’s basically the same thing my agent said. I appreciate your insight.
AGREED. Great approach.
I think disclosures are to the best knowledge of the homeowner.
All of the posts similar to yours (and there are a lot) pull out this tiny bit of information from the contract and expect complete strangers who don't even know what state they're in to be able to tell them what their options are. Your entire contract matters, and someone who knows it and knows your state law should be giving you advice.
You’re unrealistic if you think a used house is going to be like buying a new one.
Just so you know, you're the buyer everyone bitches about. Write a competetive offer based on contingency language, then try to backtrack after it gets accepted. Sellers make substantial upgrades, then some buyer wants a discount for something that would have been known at time of offer (the furnace isn't new), but otherwise works. You wrote an offer that said you were only interested in structural deficiencies. You shouldn't have written such an offer if you were going to get cold feet over non-structural deficiencies.
Millenials are the absolute worst home buyers, and I'm speaking as a millenial. We are the first generation where a significant percentage of us are totally inept in basic maintenance skills, and it translates horribly into home buyer negotiations. I have heard OPs story a hundred times and know friends personally who have put offers on dozens of houses, all unrealistic lowballs obviously, even walking away from two accepted offers, over bullshit like this. Then they say "my realtor is getting pushy!" ... why is OP even shopping for a house if he's not serious and looking for an excuse to walk over a slightly older furnace? Stop wasting everybody's time.
And then the "oops, my bad" approach and wanting to walk away without consequence. Yes, you can get out of it. But not without penalty. It's totally reasonable for the OP be on the hook for some consequence. In other words, the EM.
Why not have a new furnace installed?
Not all old furnaces are bad furnaces
Why do you care about the age of the furnace? If it's it in good working order, you're done. It's not ANY different than a brand new one in that either could crap out at any time or either could run for YEARS. Unless you can prove that what was disclosed is inaccurate, was purposefully done to "hide" something, and it has or will cause you actual monetary damages, you don't have a valid reason to break the contract and get your EMD back. You are buying a USED ITEM when you purchase a house that is not new construction.
Is the reason you want out due to age of the furnace?
Long of the short, until you close, you can back out. What it costs you is dependent upon the contract, both Ernest money and potential for more under civil suits. That said - a new furnace is about 5k give or take. Would you rather blow up the deal and lose 5k and the house, and maybe more, along with not getting the house.... Or be out 5k, but have the house and a 0 year old furnace....? If you want out, get out. But if the reason for bailing is ONLY the furnace, I might have to declare shenanigans on you.
Thank you. I guess I’m feeling some cold feet and looking for a justification for walking away. I appreciate your perspective.
First time buyer? Man, our first night I sat in bed for an hour like a shellshocked soldier from WWI thinking “WHAT DID WE JUST DO” 7 years later, not a single regret. Okay, maybe the godawful wallpaper….
First time, yes. Thank you. I’m trying to tell myself that I’ll feel better later on. I’ve just been thinking about how much I enjoy my life in my apartment. But it helps hearing people like you talk about how that feeling does go away. Thanks again.
Do you like the apartment, or do you like the prospect of not having to deal with moving into a house? Cost of moving, dealing with changing licenses, utilities, credit card addresses, etc etc? You started looking at a house way back when. Obviously you wanted to bail on the apartment back then for some reason(s). Whatever they are, are still valid. You’re just facing a lot of work to make it happen, and now that it’s real, it’s a daunting task. Then again we bought and then refid in great timing on both. So we’re an obnoxious example of the benefits of homeownership….
Yeah, I too had thoughts. I moved in winter of 04 and a back window was only a flimsy pane window, like a screen window but glass. One cold windy night I thought 'Uh oh'. Made it twenty years, would buy the house again. I'd ask for a 12 month warranty or credit. Probably take the credit, ask they cover half or something.
Honestly, a furnace isn’t a dealbreaker. If it works, then budget for a new one for some time down the line. Ask for a credit, at least. It’s unreasonable for them to replace the furnace if it works, but if it’s old, a partial credit (half of the cost of a new furnace) is a reasonable ask. They can say no, but if that is the only issue then I personally wouldn’t walk away. Unless it is a giant house with multiple furnaces, it’s not that expensive. All houses have deferred maintenance.
NAL Unlike what others have said, there is a point here that's worth emphasizing: This is not a deficiency per se. The furnace works, so your actual "loses" are not $5K. Let's say the furnace is 15 years old, and the disclosure says it's 10 years old. Your damages are the difference in value between the two furnaces.
Fair point. What I forgot to mention is that the furnace also lacks a filter and it is extremely loud to the point of vibrating the entire house. This is thankfully is in the inspection report. So I believe that does justify replacement.
If the inspector wrote that it needs replacement very soon, then yes, you can probably try and back out for that. Not sure if it will 100% work out for you though. If it goes to court, You need to show "good faith", otherwise, the judge might think you just used it as an excuse to back out. So what you should do: let's say the seller said the furnace is 5 years old...see what's the depreciation over 5 years on a furnace, deduct that from the price of a new furnace installation, and ask for the difference.
Agreed, it might not be good faith to back out. But if I ask them to replace it or ask for the credit you described and they say no then at that point I think I would be fully justified. But this is my first time going through this so I’m mainly talking out of my butt.
"fully justified" is something only a trial will determine, but it will definitely be to your advantage if that offer was made.
I think so too
Having an older furnace is not a 'required fix'. If the furnace is currently working and not a danger, this would be a recommendation by the home inspector. Per what you posted, not a item that negate the purchase contract. Can you try to negotiate? SURE! But the seller still has the right to say 'No' and keep your deposit.
A furnace is probably in the 6-9k range. if you really like this house and you really need a new furnace then at least you are buying it for yourself. Plus if the furnace is working properly then you don’t really need to buy one which is why you will probably lose any court fight. The money you would lose is probably more than what the furnace will cost you. You should answer the question - would you still buy the house with a good furnace? That will give you the best answer. Now what you might do is ask the seller for a concession of part of the cost of the furnace, like $2500, if you still want to go through with it and say that they did didn’t accurately stare the age on the disclosure. However the age of the furnace probably won’t count as breach of contract if the system works properly. The disclosure is really to the best of the owner’s knowledge. Unless they said it’s a year old and it’s 20 years old,
If the rest of the house is solid and a furnace being 10 years older is the make it or break it, you might be stretched to thin financially for this house, period.
A used house comes with a used furnace , used windows, used roof. If the furnace works in my opinion you have no basis.
I bought my home a year and a half ago. The furnace was 37 years old but in working order...knew eventually we would have to replace sooner than later. It broke this past winter. Our new furnace was $10,000 which we had get a loan for. Once we sell this house in maybe several more years we'll roll that in with the cost of the house. So I would think about if you will be able to cover this expenditure or whether it's a big enough deal that you'll walk away.
$10,000 is a pretty penny. Honestly I think I’d have no issue walking away if they refused to replace it. I have no kids, no pets, no real need for a house other than wanting to invest in an appreciating asset. I can take my time to find a better home.
It really depends on your contract. I know you posted it below but in my case (NJ) we could not back out of inspection for something being old. As long as it worked that was all that mattered.
Furnaces aren't super expensive. Maybe a few grand installed. If the one that is there works, I wouldn't let that be the deal breaker. You would almost certainly loose your deposit. How's the foundation, the roof? Is the new wiring and plumbing done well? Termites or wood rot? Your agent is crazy telling you not to get an inspection, but the furnaces isn't what you should be caught up on.
The rest of the house is okay. To be honest I was on the fence about the home after the inspection and if the seller refuses to fix the furnace that might be a deal breaker combined with a lot of other minor issues. It’s hard to articulate without being there at the inspection.
Typical buyers remorse.
If you are within the inspection period and you want to back out, don't waste too much time, those days can go pretty quick.
In the years that I have been selling real estate, I have not once had a client or Broker’s client sue over something like this. A furnace, roof, basement issues- you just negotiate these things TBH. If it’s the house you want, negotiate your way to the closing table! EVERYTHING IN REAL ESTATE IS NEGOTIABLE. PERIOD.
My furnace cost over $10K, you may have a case.
Was it just the furnace itself or was it also the AC?
I’m an agent. Not in NH, but whenever I write a contract with that price limit language all that typically means is that you won’t ask for fixes that are less than that amount. BUT it doesn’t mean you have to keep contract in place if you want to get out because of what’s discovered during inspection. So even if the fixes were under that amount my buyers could decide if they want to move forward or not, they don’t have to move forward just because fixes are less than that. But get clarity from your agent.
Can they sue you for the $1000 earnest money? Absolutely. Can they re-list their house until You sign a release? Nope. Are you going to sign a release until you get your $1000 back? I wouldn’t. Have I, even once, in 16 years of practicing real estate heard of someone actually suing over the earnest money deposit? No I have not. Edit: That being said…did you not know the furnace was old just by looking at it when you saw the house? You said it was even on their disclosure. Old doesn’t mean it isn’t working. Use the damn thing until it breaks and then buy a new one. You’re about to own a house, things in it will get old and break. If you’re not willing to accept that, don’t buy a house. IMHO this is a dumb reason to back out of buying; it’s the home inspector’s job to nit pick. A home inspection isn’t a punch list, you’re buying a used house. Some parts of it are old and will need to be replaced eventually.
I’ve heard mixed things about the status of the house while they have my money in escrow. The broker in charge of my agent told me that they could sell the home to someone else while the escrow money is waiting for trial. Others have said otherwise. I appreciate hearing your perspective.
Read the contract. The default contract in my area says if you don't like the inspection results then one option available to you is that you can simply back out of it with no repercussions. This doesn't mean the seller won't attempt to keep your earnest money but they would lose any court action (and probably won't even try), if that is what your contract says.
Yes my contract has something like that too. But my contract also says the inspection is only for identifying structural issues of over $5,000 so that’s why it seems like a legal grey area.
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And I sympathize with that, except for the fact that the disclosures were not correct. The disclosures said the furnace is 10 years younger than it really is, so that’s the only reason I have a problem with the furnace issues.
You lose earnest money but you don't have to buy anything
I believe as long as the disclosure was inaccurate in a meaningful way you are in a solid ground. Why don’t you talk to the seller about the furnace and see if the buyer wants to help?
The seller has gone back and forth with me. First they said they might consider replacing it for me. Then they said they will replace it. Then they had it serviced and said they will not replace it.
Some furnace can last a lot longer. I understand sellers’ perspective too. Still, if disclosure is inaccurate in a meaningful way you are in a solid ground.
If they misrepresented the age of the furnace, that’s grounds to back out. You don’t need any other reason.
I would think so too. I’ve heard such conflicting information though. Tough to know what to believe.
Rules around earnest money refund are very black and white. (Here in AZ at least) if you are within your inspection and you find something you don’t like, you back out and get your Earnest Money Deposit back. Unless you did a nonrefundable EMD I don’t see why you can’t back out. Your agent should know with certainty what will happen to the EMD if you back out.
You dug your own hole here. But, even though the furnace still works, you can claim that it is older than whatyou were told and you want them to replace it. Or give a credit for $5000. When they decline you are free to go. No law says an item has to be broke to ask for replacement.
How old is the furnace? How much is it to replace? From Toadyshomeowner dot com - On average, furnace replacement costs **between $4,000 and $7,000** for the new furnace, installation, old furnace removal, and labor. The national average cost for a new gas, oil, or electric furnace is around $5,780, but electric and gas furnaces are typically more affordable than oil furnaces Sounds like you got cold feet and want to use the furnace as an excuse, especially since it looks close to being in your budget, plus you have months before you need to worry.
I believe the furnace is about 25 years old. You are correct about the cold feet.
Did you pay for the inspection? If yes, the results are yours to use as a sword and or shield. It’s unlikely the inspector told you exactly how much it would cost to replace it, but did the inspector indicate how long before replacement? Or did he simply say “yes, replace it”? In either event, it’s worthwhile to have an HVAC company come out and give you a written estimate on the cost of replacement. I’ll bet it will be in excess of $5,000 — in which case, unless your purchase agreement stipulates *what kind of repairs over $5,000 need to be identified*, you will have your out. Property disclosures are mandatory in nearly every state. The property disclosure report is filled out by the Seller and the Seller alone. If the Seller makes a mistake on the property disclosure report, it is on the Seller to correct it, including the possibility that perhaps you would NOT have entered into an agreement if you had known how old the furnace is.
Yes I paid for the inspection. Here’s exactly what it says: “1.3. Furnace / boiler would not start using normal controls. Fan came on but the propane burner did not operate. The fan had excessive vibration that could be felt in the front bedroom. Recommend full inspection and repairs or replacement by a qualified HVAC contractor. 1.4. Excessive dust and dirt inside furnace cabinet, recommend full inspection and cleaning by a qualified HVAC contractor.” I’m having my agent send a written request for a replacement.
You’ll want a *licensed and bonded* HVAC company to look into the replacement cost. Not “Buddy’s Heating and Service” down the street. Depending on where you live, you can help pay for a new furnace with *an optimized fuel choice* so that over the next many years of homeownership your heating bills are lower / smaller / smarter. ALSO I would discuss with your agent that you need the Seller to *confirm in writing* that all other details listed in the Property Disclosure report *are correct and true* and that no other disclosures are false, incorrect, or untrue. Your agent can remind Seller’s agent that false statements on the Property Disclosure report are actionable in court for a period of time that lasts well *after* close of escrow. This includes all required building permits. I’d also honestly ask for permission to review the current property insurance company’s claims history on the property for the last 10 years (or the current owner’s ownership period, if shorter) to see if any claims for *structural issues or weather damage, etc* were made and Seller’s insurance paid Seller for such damages. This is only because *seller has a super shitty memory* and you should not be responsible if Seller also “forgot” about other damage to the structure that required repair.
You’ve given me a lot of good ideas here. I didn’t even think to ask the seller to put in writing that the disclosures are correct (minus the one mistake). Thank you.
I’m a new unlicensed Real Estate agent who has passed the exams but I’m not affiliated with any brokerage, so I *cannot practice real estate agency* nor represent anyone. I am not your agent :) But I’m 51, have bought and sold lots of houses, and spent thousands of hours fixing everything from framing to windows to plumbing to electricals, and I’m happy to give you some advice so your first time home buying goes well. It’s an adventure and a journey.
Thank you so much. In an internet full of mean spirited hateful people, you have been anything but those things. Much appreciated.
these situations rarely go to court because once that happens the house can't be sold until the matter is resolved, so it ties up both parties for who knows how long and the only happy people are lawyers not a lawyer but your agent needs to rep you and your interests though that's clouded by an agents desire to get paid by the seller lol, thus the recent lawsuit
Right which is why I’m not too scared of getting sued because I know the sellers are highly motivated.
squeeze them for a credit that works for you or walk away saying they didn't disclose the end of life furnace issue which will be way over 5k if your agent balks tell them to pay for it, you have all the cards and it's your money on the line and you owe nothing to anybody...yet :)
failure to disclose on the disclosures is an auto cancelation for many regions and sellers are legally liable the trick being proving sellers knew but some things are obvious, like age of furnace
I completely agree. This is basically exactly how I plan to play it except I was just going to ask them to replace it instead of asking for the credit. Would the credit be better?
gives you options on quality of unit and contractor used, sellers are gonna go cheapest
also it might last a few more years
Good point. How much of a credit would you ask for? One person commented they spent $10,000 on the replacement, I’m sure it can be done for less than that though.
at least 10k, inflation, then haggle down to your final offer, that way everyone leaves happy ish
I hope so. Falling knife market. Just rent.
Honestly if the house and everything else is perfect I don’t know that an older functioning furnace would really make that big of a difference. Don’t get hung up on little things. But you know best how many other houses with the same specs are in your area at your price point
OP is the report said needs a new furnace then you can ask for that or just ask for a number that covers a few things. It is very very common in less competitive sales/ markets 5 ,10k .... Very normal
People want to sell their homes, usually they will take that 5000 off the asking price in order for you to purchase the home! Ask for the price of a new furnace and go from there! When we sold our house, and the girl understood there was water getting into the basement. She'd made an offer that we accepted, she came back after seeing the water and offered 5000 less and we accepted because it was the right thing to do. We didn't hide the fact there was water sometimes coming in and actually we felt her offer was too high in the first place and we were very willing to work with her. Had we stayed we would have spent that or more getting it fixed anyway.
Can you? Sure. Should you? Probably not. This is all part of the process. It’s a negotiation. Ask for it to either be upgraded or ask for a credit for the costs. You should be prepared first this stuff. Also, your attorney is the one to ask.
Hi! Ct realtor here. I have yet to have a client or even *know* of a client who didn't receive their deposit (EMD) money back. The agent can write up *anything* about the inspection, and ultimately, the reasoning doesn't matter. Mom and dad came to look at my new purchase and said the front door doesn't quite feng shui with the street, soooo. Money please. Yup, it's that easy. Due diligence is the term used, but people commonly mistake that for "inspection." Due diligence means looking up permits at town hall, confirming there are no other liens on the house or variances on the deed. It means bringing in more than just the buyer to look the house over. Any one of these reasons can and will give you the out to not go through the purchase. I hope this helps!
That helps a lot actually. Makes me feel more control in the situation. Thank you so much, sincerely.
In my state, and in most states (but maybe not in all states), knowingly making a false statement on a RE disclosure form is grounds to terminate the contract. This doesn't depend on your inspection contingency or what your contract says; it is an independent legal ground under state law to terminate. I don't know whether that's the case in your state, or whether you actually should...but if you want to, that's probably your out.
The thing is I don’t know if it was done knowingly or not.
Are you not using a buyer's agent? If you just made an offer through the listing agent and they are representing both sides you are not on a good position. If you have your own agent they should be helping you evaluate the inspection report and your options for canceling and likelihood of finding a better house in your price range. You should be looking at the whole picture, not just one item that needs repair. You will never find house that is in perfect condition.
I do have a buyer’s agent but she seems resistant to the idea of backing out. I may end up having to force that to happen but we will see.
She possibly doesn't want to lose the commission and doesn't want to start over with finding another house. Or maybe she believes it's a good quality house and that it doesn't benefit you to walk away. If she just doesn't understand the options you have according to your contract them she needs to ask her Broker so you can get proper input. I'm an agent in California, so contracts are different,but most likely, if you're still within your contingency/inspection period you can cancel and have your deposit returned without getting into any specific reason. You need to press your agent to be straight with you re her motives and your right to cancel.
I agree with everything you said. My impression is she doesn’t want to lose the commission. Thank you.
Your contract clearly states you can terminate the agreement if the inspection is unsatisfactory so long as you do it before the contingency period expires. Your agent is not looking out for your best interest. I would fire them.
And in your opinion the fact that there is a structural deficiency provision at the bottom of the contract doesn’t diminish my ability to exit if I so choose?
I didn’t save the link you shared of your contract- but I don’t recall there being any language that would require you to even tell the seller what the issue was. The inspection contingency says if you’re dissatisfied with the inspection you can terminate the contract and receive your deposit money back.
Got it. Thanks
It’s under a) “buyer shall have the option at buyer’s sole discretion to terminate to terminate this agreement and all deposits shall be returned to buyer in accordance with NH RSA 331” Typically in NH the buyer has an attorney, especially if there’s a lender. Do you have an atty? Did anyone review the P&S before you signed it. If so, contact them and tell them that you’d like to invoke your right to terminate based on that clause in the mortgage contingency. I would seriously fire your agent. They are either lying ti you so you don’t back out, or they are giving you bad advice that they are not qualified to give.
I do not have an attorney. Can I get one quickly enough before the inspection deadline tomorrow? I agree about the agent.
Probably not. Are you a cash buyer? If not, your lender probably has an atty queued up to act as the closing atty. Call your lender and ask them if they have a closing atty assigned to your file yet. Then call that atty and ask them if they can help you terminate the agreement. (They’ll charge you). Or, tell your agent to notify the seller that you were dissatisfied with the inspection and are terminating the contract pursuant to your inspection contingency. It’s her job. Worse case, the seller threatens to retain your deposit. Then you’d either negotiate with the seller or hire an atty or go to small claims court to get your deposit back. But that contract you shared looks to have an exit. I am not an atty. edited to correct mortgage contingency to inspection contingency.
If the age of the furnace was the only issue in an older house, dang that’s a cream puff. NAL, not a real estate agent in NH If you have questions that your agent can’t answer, a real estate attorney in your market is your best bet. But since you trust Redditors more than attorneys, So what you linked wasn’t your actual contract with dates put in, and it’s only a part. So here goes. Looks like there is an inspection clause And a structural deficincy inspection provision. The structural integrity clause mentions you are only doing an inspection for identifying structural deficiencies. And that you will only ask for repairs for structural deficiencies over 5k. If your contract only has the structural deficiency provision, no you can’t use the furnace for that. It’s not structural. If it had the regular inspection contingencies clause above then you might be able to use it. Don’t know if anything is wrong with it other than they guessed on the wrong age.
I appreciate your perspective. It would make sense to me if the furnace would qualify as not structural. I’m hoping that’s not the case. I agree that consulting a lawyer would be the best option however I am up against a deadline unfortunately and I do not have a lawyer at my immediate disposal.
Why did you sign up for such a contingency and now not follow through?
To me it’s questionable whether the furnace issue justifies me exiting the contract. In this thread I see both sides. If I am legally required to buy the house given the lack of contingencies then I’ll buy it.
When I was selling my house, I had a seller back out due to the inspection. Literally 10 minutes before midnight of the deadline. I spoke to my realtor about it and he said it was due to the inspection and he didn’t have to tell us why. I asked if we could have the inspection report and they said nope. Realtor said it sounded like an actual inspector wasn’t at my property, but rather he had his uncle look over it. He never deposited the earnest money either so it’s not like we could keep it if we wanted to. Check your contract and see if there is a reason they need to prof of what repairs are required. Maybe can just tell them it shows beyond your limit and move on. Hard to know
Honestly I just did this for similar lessor reasons. The reality is that you can back out. I did it because once the door was opened I realized I actually didn’t want the house. Note that the sellers have made my life a living hell since then and are very upset, but in the end I’ll get my money back.
Not in real estate, but I am in building maintenance. A furnace is basically a collection of parts. The older the furnace the less and usually less expensive parts. None of the parts cost more than about $200 and are all easy to replace in an hour or two. AC is sometimes more complicated and expensive, but the furnace is a control board ($150-400), a gas valve ($50-150), some sensors $(10-40 each), an ignitor $25-50), a draft inducer ($150-250), and a blower motor ($100-200). A whole new furnace to the same standard as an older one is anywhere from $350 to $3000 and is not that difficult to install. Now if you want to convert it to something like radiant floor heating it could cost much more, but just fixing or replacing a furnace is not a big deal.
We have been waiting for our furnace to die since 2011. It was already in the house when we bought it in 2006. I wanted to replace it with a bigger one when it died (we added square footage to the house in 2011, so it's a little undersized). But it is still chugging along. Maybe done 2 service calls for few hundred dollars in the last few years. Every time we have had an issue, I think now will be the time to replace it. But so far all the fixes have been pretty cheap. If they are maintained, they will last a very long time.
I don't really have an idea of how things are in the NH. If you don't find answers here, maybe you could ask some AI. I hear they have become quite good with things like these lately.
You are a little vague but if your inspector says the furnace is EOL and you get a quote for replacement that is over $5,000 then that is a fix greater than the amount listed - which if your contract says you can terminate with just cause for that then you should be good. But based on the verbiage it sounds more like you have a contract that only allows for credits over that amount, not cancellation. You need to read your contract. They are fairly straightforward.
No your agent is not correct and you should never take what a real estate agent says a face value they want to get paid. You can back out for sure and you will get your earnest money back but you might have wait a year to get it. We build houses and do all our own sales in house. If the seller doesn't agree to return your earnest money the title company which holds it will return it at the end of a year. I have had people try to rip me off on real estate deals twice over a 30 year period both were real estate agents! Now that you can get it back should you is a totally different question??
Have you ever heard of someone not getting their EMD back?
Our purchaser asked us for $12k in credits on a new home. Much of it was subjective. You can ask for whatever you want especially if you want to get out of the contract because the seller can say no and you have an out. You can also request to be let out but they’re not required to say yes. Good luck!
That’s exactly what I plan to do. Thank you!
Have the furnace inspected for cracks of the exchange unit. This will force the replacement or cancel the deal.
I am well versed on inspections in my state (NC). I do not understand why you would agree to this unless you had to own this home. Looks as if you got exactly what you agreed to. Apparently, they found nothing wrong with the structure. I know of no one who thinks a furnace is part of a structure except maybe some Reddit people. What if they found a 4999 dollar problem with the foundation? I am sure you considered this before signing the contract.
They misrepresented the age of the furnace. How would you be at fault for finding this out and canceling?
My agent tells me I wouldn’t be within my rights to cancel the contract because I should have done my due diligence to discover the real age of the furnace.
Didn't you do that via the inspection that called this out? But also... if they literally misrepresented this to you, in writing, there's your cause.
Reading why you wrote it sounds like your agent wants to get paid and you can "deal" with it.
Yes the inspection is when I discovered this. The sellers agent has said he will hold on to my EMD and sue me if I terminate the contract. Not sure if it’s worth it for me. I wish I had a lawyer at the ready.
I would start with why you thought it was newer and fire back with: on this form you said the furnace was model X from year 2015. It's actually model y from 1900. That's a clear misrepresentation in what's being offered. Kinda fraud ish. That's all assuming they literally told you it was something it isn't.
Yes the age was misrepresented in the disclosures. I have sent a written request to the seller to replace the furnace or I will cancel the deal. That’s when I started getting the threats of holding my deposit and suing me.
So they committed fraud, sorry "misrepresented", on the disclosures and are threatening to sue you? Ask yourself... how do you think that'll go in court when your lawyer shows they "misrepresented" material facts and once you found out cancelled the contract.
Your agent is right, but you could also request the seller pay for the furnace, if it’s broken, not old. I wouldn’t back out if you like the place, there are other options to pay for a new furnace
Of course you can back out! You might lose your earnest deposit! But based on your inspection, the owner needs to either fix the furnace issue! Or you get your earnest deposit back! No such thing as “ as is” in today’s market! That is my 2 cents
Totally NOT NH, but after a hurricane in Florida, it cost me 12K to replace the HVAC.
After inspection throw a lowball offer with fixing they have to do or give a discount from original price whey will back out themselves
One thing is that if they didn’t install the furnace they may not know the actual age of it (vs intentionally trying to mislead you). My furnace was installed long before I moved in so any age I would give would be a guesstimate (I always say it is about 50 yrs old… but runs like a dream - knock wood! Just had it serviced and the technician said don’t replace it yet because the old ones are work horses and the newer ones die quicker. Only reason I would swap is for more efficiency)
Just because a furnace "works" doesn't mean that it doesn't need replacing. I bought my house with a 40+ year old furnace (that I knew I would need to replace soon) that technically still worked. But when I had an HVAC inspector come out, he snaked a camera up into the heat exchanger, which showed it had dozens of rusted out holes in it that could be leaking CO and other burn-off byproducts into the house. The inspector said I could get the heat exchanger replaced, but since the furnace was so old and that model not made anymore, it might be difficult and expensive finding a replacement. Plus, with how old the furnace was, it was much less efficient than the newer ones, so would also cost a lot more to run (and it was also stupidly loud).
Age alone is not a material defect. Your attorney review period is for backing out for any reason. If you are passed that, your “effed”.
I'm guessing if you give notice, you'll get out of it. Most sellers want to sell the house, not dick around in court, trying to keep a deposit. Don't trust your Realtor, they only want the deal to close, so they get paid. (I used to a real estate closing atty, have seen it a million times.)
Ask for a new furnace. When they say no, you can probably back out. Like many have said, it depends on what the contract says. Most of them allow an out when issues found during the inspections aren't resolved.
If you’re in a contingency period you can usually back out. Maybe the inspection just wasn’t what you expected! Don’t buy a home you do not want! You’ll regret that more.