Hi there.
We are a military family who purchased our first home in November 2006. The short of it (ha) is that I have noticed some hairline cracks opening up in the walls, and some new uneveness to the floors, as well as a leaky roof. I had a foundation specialist out and he said it will cost 30,000 + to fix the foundation issues, and that it was obvious to him that the seller knew about the problems, based on what he called 'obvious attempts at concealment' i.e., molding to cover the gap between the floor and baseboards, heavy texture to cover large cracks in the plaster, etc. We did get a home inspection, and the inspector put as follows on the report:
STRUCTURE: (2) Unable to estimate costs
Floor Framing:
The subfloor appears to be water damaged and rotted and teh floor sags at the dining room.
Beams and joists are poorly supported
Recommend an evaluation of the entire first floor framing and repair, if needed, by a structural specialist.
In speaking to the inspector, the impression he gave us at the time was that the damage was exclusive to the dining room. The seller was to fix the sagging floor in the dining room, and during the repairs, to evaluate the extent of the damage underneath.
During the walk-through of the house, we learned that the sellers' father was the one who replaced the damaged sub floor. I asked her specifically if there were any foundation problems, or if the subfloor was damaged elsewhere, and she said no.
Again, as we are a military family, and were under an extreme time crunch to move, with the moving truck waiting at the curb to move in at completion of closing, we took her at her word.
Under the disclosures document, the seller filled out the following:
7. Are you aware of any water seepage, leakage or other drainage problems in any of the improvements on the property? No
9. Are you aware of any previous foundation repairs? No
10. Are you aware of any alterations or repairs having been made to correct defects or problems? No
11. Are you aware of any defect or condition affecting the interior or exterior walls, ceilings, slab/foundation, basement/storm cellar, floors, windows, doors, fences or garage? No
12. Has the roof ever been repaired or replaced during your ownership of the property? Yes.
13. Approximate age of the roof, if known. 1 yr.
Number of layers, if known. 1
14. Do you know of any current problems with the roof? No
My question is, since a specialist said that it was obvious that the seller concealed problems relating to all of the above, and since she didn't accordingly mark yes on the above disclosures, would it be beneficial for us to take some kind of legal action against the seller/realtor/home inspector in order to obtain the money to make the repairs, our legal fees, and money for us to live elsewhere while the repairs are taking place? When we signed the contract, did we agree to take the property 'as is', even though it wasn't sold in 'as is' condition? Since the sellers' listing agent was a personal friend of hers, who also sold her business for her, is it likely that she knew about the cover-ups and is liable as well? Also, since the seller is divorced, and a quit claim was filed, is her ex-husband exempt from any lawsuit?
We feel as though we were taken advantage of. As first-time military home buyers, we had guaranteed VA financing, the seller knew that we were under an extreme time crunch, and had little available funds for additional inspections, etc. We love this house. Is there anything we can do?
Thank you.
K
We are a military family who purchased our first home in November 2006. The short of it (ha) is that I have noticed some hairline cracks opening up in the walls, and some new uneveness to the floors, as well as a leaky roof. I had a foundation specialist out and he said it will cost 30,000 + to fix the foundation issues, and that it was obvious to him that the seller knew about the problems, based on what he called 'obvious attempts at concealment' i.e., molding to cover the gap between the floor and baseboards, heavy texture to cover large cracks in the plaster, etc. We did get a home inspection, and the inspector put as follows on the report:
STRUCTURE: (2) Unable to estimate costs
Floor Framing:
The subfloor appears to be water damaged and rotted and teh floor sags at the dining room.
Beams and joists are poorly supported
Recommend an evaluation of the entire first floor framing and repair, if needed, by a structural specialist.
In speaking to the inspector, the impression he gave us at the time was that the damage was exclusive to the dining room. The seller was to fix the sagging floor in the dining room, and during the repairs, to evaluate the extent of the damage underneath.
During the walk-through of the house, we learned that the sellers' father was the one who replaced the damaged sub floor. I asked her specifically if there were any foundation problems, or if the subfloor was damaged elsewhere, and she said no.
Again, as we are a military family, and were under an extreme time crunch to move, with the moving truck waiting at the curb to move in at completion of closing, we took her at her word.
Under the disclosures document, the seller filled out the following:
7. Are you aware of any water seepage, leakage or other drainage problems in any of the improvements on the property? No
9. Are you aware of any previous foundation repairs? No
10. Are you aware of any alterations or repairs having been made to correct defects or problems? No
11. Are you aware of any defect or condition affecting the interior or exterior walls, ceilings, slab/foundation, basement/storm cellar, floors, windows, doors, fences or garage? No
12. Has the roof ever been repaired or replaced during your ownership of the property? Yes.
13. Approximate age of the roof, if known. 1 yr.
Number of layers, if known. 1
14. Do you know of any current problems with the roof? No
My question is, since a specialist said that it was obvious that the seller concealed problems relating to all of the above, and since she didn't accordingly mark yes on the above disclosures, would it be beneficial for us to take some kind of legal action against the seller/realtor/home inspector in order to obtain the money to make the repairs, our legal fees, and money for us to live elsewhere while the repairs are taking place? When we signed the contract, did we agree to take the property 'as is', even though it wasn't sold in 'as is' condition? Since the sellers' listing agent was a personal friend of hers, who also sold her business for her, is it likely that she knew about the cover-ups and is liable as well? Also, since the seller is divorced, and a quit claim was filed, is her ex-husband exempt from any lawsuit?
We feel as though we were taken advantage of. As first-time military home buyers, we had guaranteed VA financing, the seller knew that we were under an extreme time crunch, and had little available funds for additional inspections, etc. We love this house. Is there anything we can do?
Thank you.
K
