Appliance Malfunctions Before Closing

The major appliance that has broken down is the HVAC system (specifically, the air conditioning component). The water heater has also stopped working, so we have two critical systems down.

The HVAC system completely stopped blowing air this morning around 9:00 AM. We woke up and the house was already noticeably warmer than usual, and the thermostat was showing the set temperature wasn't being met. The water heater stopped producing hot water sometime last night, probably after we finished dinner. We noticed this morning when we went to take showers and only cold water came out. There were no power outages or anything unusual that happened in the house prior to these breakdowns.

For the HVAC, about two weeks ago, we noticed the air wasn't blowing quite as cold as usual, and the unit seemed to be running a bit longer to reach the set temperature. We chalked it up to the unusually hot weather. The water heater has been completely silent and showed no signs of trouble whatsoever. No leaks, no strange noises, nothing.

The purchase agreement states that the seller is responsible for any major appliance repairs or replacements needed up until closing, provided the issue wasn't caused by the buyer's actions. We haven't received any specific warranty documentation for either the HVAC or the water heater from the seller, but the agreement is clear on their responsibility for pre-closing issues. We're assuming this falls under that clause.

The HVAC system is approximately 12 years old. We have a service contract with 'Cool Breeze HVAC' and they've been out annually for routine maintenance, most recently in April of this year. The water heater is about 8 years old and we haven't had any specific service done on it beyond what's included in the general home inspection report, which indicated it was in good working order at that time.