Don't have all of the storm windows in new house?

Question

We just purchased a home and discovered over the weekend that we do not have all of the storm windows and the ones that we do have do not fit. We feel upset that we weren't aware of this before purchasing the house. It was not disclosed in the truth in housing report. Any ideas on how to move forward or is this something that we just have to live with? We are hoping that we can get some money back as now we will have to replace the windows much sooner than we planned.

Answer 1

I doubt that this is something that you are going to get any money back from the sellers. I doubt this is something they intentionally were hiding from you. My guess is that the storm windows were sitting somewhere (garage, basement) and you didn't take the time to compare the count of the storms against the windows. There are plenty of places that will custom build storm windows for you so you won't have to "replace the windows sooner". Try your local hardware store.

Answer 2

Is this a new house or a re-sale of an older house? If it's a new one, you may have a warranty complaint; but if it's an older house, you may be stuck. Older houses are generally sold "as is", and the only guarantee is that the utilities will be in working order on the date of the sale. The lack of storm windows is PROBABLY not considered the type of defect that must be disclosed but you can check with your state's Real Estate Commission on this point. This is why you should always have a home inspector go thru the house with you before you commit to buying, so he can bring up these details with you and you can bring them up with the seller. The only way around it is if the sellers gave a written promise that there were storm windows for all the windows. You could easily tell if there were storm windows on the house when you agreed to buy it. If there weren't any, you shouldn't have assumed that there were--you should have asked. You took it "as is".

Answer 3

You don't say when you purchased the home, But you could check your paperwork to see if there is anything in there that would give you some relief from the old owners. Your agent might also be able to tell you easier. Was the house inspected? This is something that should have been in that report.

Answer 4

For now, you can go to Home Depot and buy plastic and duck tape. You can cover the windows when it starts to get real cold. There's something that we all miss when buying a home. Sorry to hear that, good luck!