@Anonymous wrote:
I am not being dishonest. I should not have to buy the house if those things are not fixed. If they dont have to fix them I am going to go with the fencing contingency. I can put a fence up but if I have to deal with getting the negative sloping issue taken care of I want my fence to go out farther than how far it can go now with the utility pipes being there. So it is a matter of my satisfaction where the fence goes.
Was your only contingency the fence issue? Or is your purchase contingent on the home inspection and the correction of all major deficits?
If the fence is the only contingency, then you also have an obligation to be reasonable about where you want to place it. You can't simply demand an unreasonable fence location or design just to get out of a contract. Furthermore, I would expect that before you signed the purchase agreement, you were given disclosures about utility lines and any easements that exist on the property. If so, then you should have known in advance where you could not install a fence, and the seller will argue that it is your fault for not reading the disclosures.
And I would have to agree with teton, it sounds like you are being somewhat deceptive in your approach. If I understand one of your posts, you indicated that you have already determined that an acceptable fence can, in fact, be installed. Thus, the contingency has been met. It's not fair to the seller for you to have a continually changing contingency just because you're having doubts about your decision.
If, however, your purchase was contingent on passing a home inspection, then you might have a little more leeway. Termites alone may not nix the deal, so long as there isn't significant structural damage. Non-grounded outlets are also a minor issue that doesn't affect the habitability of the home to a significant extent. The negative slope, however, could be an issue if you can prove that this has caused drainage problems, such as basement or crawlspace flooding. Also, if you can show that there are major deficits that the seller knew about but didn't disclose, then you have some leverage here too.
