A:  Whether they can "legally treat you that way" largely depends on how the purchase and sale contract was worded.  Also, you gave up a lot of leverage by moving into the house BEFORE you verified that the work had been completed to your satisfaction.

 First of all, when you asked the sellers to make the repairs, I assume you did so in writing.  If I were writing up a work order addendum to a real estate purchase and sales agreement, I would clearly spell out exactly what work needed to be done.  I would also require that the work be "completed to Buyer's satisfaction."  The more specific you make the agreement, the less chance there is for errors or misunderstandings later.  For example, you should have specifically stated what work was to be done to the fireplace. Instead of writing "fix fireplace," the agreement might read something like this:  "Replace all broken bricks, repair all motor joints, replace chimney liner … " and so on.  That way both you and seller would know exactly repairs were to be made. 

Another smart thing to do is add a clause to the agreement giving you the right to choose the contractor, so that you could make sure the job was done correctly.  In any real estate deal, the seller will try to spend as little money as possible to complete the repairs, which can sometimes result in poor workmanship and low quality materials being used.  That's why you should try to have the right to choose the contractor yourself, or at least approve the seller's selection.  Another good idea is to ask for the right to negotiate directly with the contractor for upgrades.  For example, when the seller installs a new roof on a house, most of the roofing cost is labor expense.  The difference between using low quality roofing materials and high quality roofing materials might only add a couple hundred dollars to the bill.  If you were allowed to talk to the roofer, you might want to spend the extra money to get a long-lasting, high quality roof on the house, rather than settling for the bargain basement job the seller is willing to pay for.

Unfortunately, most of these tips are too late for you, but I am bringing them up to help readers who may find themselves in a similar situation.  One of the most important parts of a real estate purchase involving work orders is the final walk-through inspection.  That should be done one or two days prior to closing the transaction.

That is when you have maximum leverage to make sure all the work has been completed, and finished in an acceptable manner.  Once you sign the closing papers and the sellers get their money, they have very little incentive to fix any remaining problems.  But if you refuse to sign until the repairs are completed to your satisfaction, the sellers will work hard to make sure the job gets done quickly so they can close the sale and get their cash.

It sounds like the sellers are not willing to give you any more help voluntarily.  So you may want to take the purchase and sale agreement to an experienced real estate attorney to find out if you can legally force the sellers to make all the repairs to which they had agreed.  Again, the key is the wording of the contract.  The more specific it is, the greater the likelihood that you will prevail in court if it gets to that.