I bought a house, and a whole house of problems

[lovin'fl]

I have a question along the lines of this thread. If one buys a home and then finds things wrong that were not put on disclosure nor found by inspector, what recourse do they have? Basically, can they sue and how long do they have to sue?

 

[tvguy]

I have a question along the lines of this thread. If one buys a home and then finds things wrong that were not put on disclosure nor found by inspector, what recourse do they have? Basically, can they sue and how long do they have to sue?

Probably cost you more to sue than to just pay for the repairs. You certainly could sue the seller in certain circumstances, but I would go after the inspector I hired first for missing things.

 

[LSUmiss]

Probably cost you more to sue than to just pay for the repairs. You certainly could sue the seller in certain circumstances, but I would go after the inspector I hired first for missing things.

Right & you’re only required to disclose what you know about. So, I would think she would have to prove that the previous owner knew about the issues & failed to disclose them.
As far as the inspection, I remember our house inspector had some kind of clause in the agreement that basically said we do our best but sometimes things aren’t obvious.

 

[phinz]

you dont have to do everything at once, take time to just enjoy

Agreed. I still haven't done all the quarter round for the baseboards where there was carpet over the gorgeous hardwood floors for 40 years. It's been 16 years since we bought this house. Maybe one day I'll get around to it.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

I have a question along the lines of this thread. If one buys a home and then finds things wrong that were not put on disclosure nor found by inspector, what recourse do they have? Basically, can they sue and how long do they have to sue?

When we bought our last house, our inspector had an insurance policy that covered the homeowner (and obviously, him) in the event he missed something major. Unfortunately, the things the OP are describing probably wouldn't be considered major. I'm pretty sure the fine print in the inspection contract exempted the inspector from being responsible for things he couldn't see - like flooring under carpet.

 

[tvguy]

Right & you’re only required to disclose what you know about. So, I would think she would have to prove that the previous owner knew about the issues & failed to disclose them.
As far as the inspection, I remember our house inspector had some kind of clause in the agreement that basically said we do our best but sometimes things aren’t obvious.

My wife sold her mom's house in a Probate sale. No disclosure required since she hadn't lived in the house in 20 years. Buyer DID want some sheet rock replaced because he felt the sheet rock in the garage wasn't thick enough for fire code. My wife's response to that request......"you would have to ask the person who put the sheet rock up.". That ended the issue because the BUYER was the one hired by my MIL to put that sheet rock up 20 years earlier.

 

[mjkacmom]

I have a question along the lines of this thread. If one buys a home and then finds things wrong that were not put on disclosure nor found by inspector, what recourse do they have? Basically, can they sue and how long do they have to sue?

If the inspector didn’t find it, how can you prove the owner knew about it? Just sold my parents 200 year old home, I haven’t lived there in 30 years, my dad had Alzheimer’s. I disclosed all I knew, the inspector found stuff I had no way of knowing about (like a corroded outdated main water line under the house), if anything else is now found, not my problem.

 

[lovin'fl]

So say they were going to sue (it's not us wanting to sue, just fyi), what is the time limit they have to start lawsuit by? After buying home.

 

[RamblingMad]

Home ownership sucks. I’m constantly fixing something. It’s such a money drain.

 

[Praying Colonel]

So say they were going to sue (it's not us wanting to sue, just fyi), what is the time limit they have to start lawsuit by? After buying home.

It will depend on the state and the cause of action. For example, suing for breach of contract may have a different statute of limitations in that state than suing for fraud.

 

[VandVsmama]

Last fall I posted asking for tips in house hunting. My realtor and I were able to find almost exactly what I was looking for. Two bed townhouse in my low end price range, ad the monthly payments with everything is less than I even asked for as well!

The fun started after purchased. Upon them moving out, I could see the walls needed a lot of work due to excessive big screw holes, they had also hidden some drywall damage from water previously. They also hide where they painted over wallpaper with decor. My realtor was nice enough to pay for the entire downstairs to be patched and sanded. I then hired someone to paint that.

I painted all of the rooms and closets upstairs and determined I needed new carpet too. Once that got ripped out, I discovered there was pet urine damage on the floorboards and rotted tackboards. I had to oil prime the entire floors twice, and have them redo the tacking. I also discovered a broken step that cost a ton of be replaced due to the construction style.

I finally have everything done and I'm so happy. A lot more work than I planned on. The painting was a LOT of work. I plan on posting some before and after pictures too.

Welcome to the joys of home ownership!

 

[usnuzuloose]

Last fall I posted asking for tips in house hunting. My realtor and I were able to find almost exactly what I was looking for. Two bed townhouse in my low end price range, ad the monthly payments with everything is less than I even asked for as well!

The fun started after purchased. Upon them moving out, I could see the walls needed a lot of work due to excessive big screw holes, they had also hidden some drywall damage from water previously. They also hide where they painted over wallpaper with decor. My realtor was nice enough to pay for the entire downstairs to be patched and sanded. I then hired someone to paint that.

I painted all of the rooms and closets upstairs and determined I needed new carpet too. Once that got ripped out, I discovered there was pet urine damage on the floorboards and rotted tackboards. I had to oil prime the entire floors twice, and have them redo the tacking. I also discovered a broken step that cost a ton of be replaced due to the construction style.

I finally have everything done and I'm so happy. A lot more work than I planned on. The painting was a LOT of work. I plan on posting some before and after pictures too.

As someone who does carpet care, it will take a lot of work for the floor of pet urine. Was none of this revealed when someone did a walk through?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

As someone who does carpet care, it will take a lot of work for the floor of pet urine. Was none of this revealed when someone did a walk through?

How would someone know that it's on the subfloors unless they themselves ripped up the carpet?Plus I'm not sure you would even have to disclose something like that (pending different state laws).

Rotting wood if you actually knew about it may be different just speaking to the pet stains on the floorboards.

 

[cabanafrau]

As someone who does carpet care, it will take a lot of work for the floor of pet urine. Was none of this revealed when someone did a walk through?

A home inspection does not entail deconstruction to allow viewing of every aspect of a home. Carpets aren't removed, plaster/drywall isn't removed from walls to look at structure, wiring or mechanics, siding isn't pulled off of the exterior, etc.

 

[Searc]

It will depend on the state and the cause of action. For example, suing for breach of contract may have a different statute of limitations in that state than suing for fraud.

We sold our house in the summer of 2001 (no issues with sale, inspectors report, etc). We were notified on September 10th, 2001 the buyers intended to sue us because of tree roots in the main line out to the street (like we were somehow supposed to know that). Well, we all know what happened the next day and we never heard another word about it.

 

[Malyficent]

I have a question along the lines of this thread. If one buys a home and then finds things wrong that were not put on disclosure nor found by inspector, what recourse do they have? Basically, can they sue and how long do they have to sue?

So funny story. We had an inspection done and a major chimney issue wasn't caught. I thought "Oh but we had an inspection, let me see if there's any recourse there." Nope. In the small print the inspection said we should have all individual systems inspected by an expert. So get in an electrician to inspect the electric, HVAC/Chimney person for the heating/cooling system, etc. So long story short and $11k later, no, no recourse in my experience. YMMV. Lesson learned and luckily we didn't die from CO2 poisoning.

 

[pampam]

It's my opinion that you never own your house. The house owns you. If you put in new windows then the heating system needs work. After you replace the water heater then the septic has a problem. The roof will leak after you empty the bank repairing your flooded basement. Welcome to home ownership. Make sure you always try to keep some money aside for unexpected emergencies. The issues you mentioned Callie, are not too serious and can be repaired at your leisure. Cosmetic isn't on the same par as structural. Welcome to home ownership.

 

[kdonnel]

Home ownership sucks. I’m constantly fixing something. It’s such a money drain.

I would still rather be the one in control of getting things fixed rather then be at the mercy of a landlord who would probably not act with the same level of urgency I would.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Did you not have a "final walk through" prior to closing? This is where the hidden gems should have been noted and worked out with the seller. Sorry if that wasn't done.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I also couldn't catch wind of the scent unless you were sitting on the floor.

Well, at least now you know - if you ever move again, you need to do the "sit" test on any carpeting .