Seller wants us to assume ADT lease.

[Frügal]

We already agreed to the Offer Agreement on what should be our first home. Woohoo!

However, we did not pay much attention to one thing; the ADT lease that the seller wants us to assume. We have done some research, and it turns out that ADT is a bunch of crooks. If we were to want to cancel the lease, ADT would expect us to pay 75% of the remaining 36-month contract. At $45/mo, that is well over $1,000.

I would hate to start off homeownership with headaches, especially since we have gone over all the house-specifics and gotten all the "bugs" out, so to speak.

When I had a similar issue with an internet service provider about four years ago, I joined a Class Action Lawsuit against them, and they never sent me another bill or collections letter, and it never went onto my credit history. I can only assume, however, that if ADT were to take us to collections, it would show up on my credit.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[kork13]

Is the ADT lease already included in your signed offer agreement? (I doubt that language is specifically on there) If the seller simply "wants" you to take over the ADT service contract, you have no obligation to do so. In fact, I would state it as a requirement for sale that the SELLER pay the cost to cancel the ADT contract (and any others that they might have in place--satellite, lawn care, etc). They signed the contract, and you cannot be bound to it unless you acknowledge and accept it (if you allow it into the purchase agreement, then it WOULD become your problem -- don't let that happen.

A security system is a great thing to have, but do it on your terms. I looked at ADT when I bought my house last year, but came to the same conclusion -- they're overpriced and require outrageous contracts. I chose a local security system monitoring service that charged less than half of what ADT wanted, and although I had to sign an initial 2-yr contract, it's no contract (month-to-month) after those 2 years are up. Look around... you have options. And whatever you do, don't let the seller foist off their contract on you. And if the seller isn't willing to sacrifice the $1k to make the sale, clearly they aren't motivated enough to sell...move on.

[JustBill]

If ADT was a good choice for the seller at their present home, they'll have the option to move the service to their new location. I'm in the middle of trying to get these clowns [ADT] to cancel service after 21 years and getting nothing but unresponsiveness, and IMO, disrespect. You may have a different experience, but I would take a different route.

[Retired To Win]

Kork13 and JustBill have hit the right nails on the head. The ADT contract should be the Seller's headache. The ADT equipment and service IS transferable to another location so the Sellers CAN take it with them -- something I know from personal experience.

As far as having one of those services, I found Protect America to be a much better deal than anything else around at the time I engaged them (3 years ago). The service performed well, and at the end of the 3-year contract I now own all the equipment, so that's another plus.

Good luck and stand your ground.

Retired To Win
making the most of my time and my money

[ua_guy]

Whatever you do, don't assume the lease. Let us know how it goes.

[Gailete]

I wonder if the reason they want you to assume the lease is they already have tried to cancel it and run into trouble. I wouldn't take over anything that a prior owner had contracted for. You want the opportunity to pick and choose what you need and want and a chance to research prices not get stuck with something just cuz they can't cancel it.

[BuckyBadger]

I agree with the others - ADT is pretty much a scam and I wouldn't assume the contract. Are you saying that you already signed documents promising to do that?

Give us a blog update - your last news was that you got a raise. Things were going well with the young one, too. You must be doing very well to be buying a house! Congratulations!

[creditcardfree]

Your realtor needs to help you get out of an agreement to take over that lease. Don't be afraid to pressure them. They want this deal to go through as much as you do.

[Jerry91]

Agreeing is different than signing the agreement. If you are not comfortable with the ADT lease, you can cancel the deal and avoid signing it. You can rather look out for some other property.