I got scared recently by a high end contractor. Once I calmed down, I realized the house problem I had was not that drastic. (my enclosed porch has to be redone, we can do it ourselves now tht we've calmed down and looked at it). Lesson learned: Don't panic right away.
Thats actually a great idea. Someone you can trust who's familiar enough with the industry to spot a real problem, is a good idea.
Then you probably did get a decent deal, unless the person who told you he was a 'deal breaker' was the realtor selling the house . We used a fellow of our own. He's a little cheaper but only because he hand writes his reports. He missed a few things, but nothing major. He was dead on for the roof for example and we took care of it within the timeframe he specified. My neighbors now are paying upwards of 35,000-50,000 dollars because they didnt follow the advice to have the plywood mostly replaced at just this age juncture. (we got away with about 5,000$ 6 years ago instead). He even warned us the main pipe to the sewer would 'probably go in 5-10 years' but not to replace it early. It went at the 7 year point and was re-run at a time when we could much better afford it than when we first got the house.
Grin, good that you are waiting. Now, if you are serious about selling, come spring you need to really do a job up nice on the yard with flowering plants and such.
Glad to help. Seriously, it may not be that bad. I have a house with settling too, but it's stable and nothing to worry about. A few minor cracks in spots but the only really 'bad' is the driveway and that is fixable. It's nothing worse than an old driveway and the freeze-thaw of the area.
That's essential. In my state, the realtor is not allowed to be there when the inspector discusses the findings but the findings afterwards may be given to the realtor. In our case, the realtor was there, but not in the same place (he was out in the back yard).
I *think* I recall that VA state or my local county/city law required the realtor be advised if there were any actual safety issues discovered. Those issues then had to be disclosed to any potential buyers until inspection showed they had been fixed. There were two in our house, but it was not a major stop. It was the electrical outlet that operated the garage door opener (2 prong with adapter ungrounded plugged in for a 3 prong device) and the cord for the electric motor for the well pump in the back yard. We dont use the well pump, and we replaced the garage door and mechanism with a manual unit to match the new siding.
Not really. Even in a disclosure state, you have some protections as a seller. My state is a mix-match there I think if I understand it right. If you do not want to be held liable, you sell as 'non-disclosure' which means you can not be held liable for anything. If you do disclose, you have limits on what you can be sued for later as based on reasonable knowledge basis.
You can for example: Disclose no knowledge of any roof problems, and not be held liable if 5 years later it turns out the roof starts to go.
Not really. If the state doesnt require disclosure, but 'allows for it if you want to' there's a huge difference.
One limit is that you need to show the seller *knew*. Especially if they're not the original occupants of the house, that may be hard to show. For example, did the freezer that blocked the view of the shifted block come with the house when
*they* bought?
I know that a lot of people don't want to do certain repairs or even bring an engineer in because it would make it easier to show something they didn't disclose. (Oh the tangled web we weave....)
But in which way? There are several ways. A google search showed a way to retro-fit piers, but most likely that does not apply to the OP. I found nothing searching on "blocking and boxing" (or the reverse) and foundation in Google.
And along that line of reasoning, another major problem is that Mac had his own inspection done before the purchase. We don't know exactly what the inspection report says about the foundation, beyond that it says above average settling. As a seller, a very effective defense is going to be that the seller is not an expert in home inspection, foundation problems, etc. They will say they didn't know there were any significant foundation problems. And the buyer's own inspector, who presumably is qualified, did inspect it for the buyer. If it turns out there are major foundation problems, I would think he has a better case against the home inspector, though he certainly should sue both, if it comes to that.
But until he gets a qualifed analysis of the foundation, no one will knows for sure the extent of his problems. If it can be fixed for $5K-10K, he can get it repaired and then sue in small claims. Only if it's a lot larger than that is it going to be worth the legal expense of a regular suit.
In pennsylvania a neighbor didnt disclose her main sewer line was bad. the new owner had a back up, she was a bookeeper for a plumber, he cameraed the line, all bad. they asked around neighbors reported the plumber was there a lot.
end of story gal sued old owner and won for whole new sewer line, replaced wall, line was under wall and new driveway, line crossed driveway.
reportedly about 15 thousand...........including attorney fees.
Interesting, I don't thing we have this specific law in place but I will check. It was the inspector himself who claimed to be a :deal breaker", my fault for falling for it. He was not recommended by our agent, I refused to use hers (and it ticked her off a bit I think). My friend with the home remodeling business told me he didn't know enough about foundations to be of any help. Too bad, I wanted someone I could trust. I'll keep looking. I may just pay a structural engineer who doesn't do the repair himself (although it's possible he would want to make a recommendation and therefore would be motivated to cry the sky is falling. See, I'm learning). The house is actually pretty well landscaped (when there's no snow on the ground), so I don't need to do a lot there, just manicuring. I do need to add some dirt/grass to the grade and extend the downspouts a little. And I don't want to talk about the electrical. All two prong upstairs, which I knew. But the basement has all three prong outlets. I thought that was good since I would have my computer down here and GFCI doesn't do any good with electronics (static electricity and all). However, not one of the plugs in the basement is grounded. Why would someone wire the basement and use grounded outlets with two-wire romex? Geez. Anyway, thanks once again for all the advice. I'm just fighting for may family's financial well being and my peace of mind.
-Mac
"cshenk" wrote in message news:Azjnj.27329$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe13.lga...
Actually, this was a one-owner home. They were here for over forty years. And since some of the cracks were poorly repaired, I find it difficult to accept they didn't know. I don't think "they didn't know" would hold up in court.
Sorry, no. "Your" agent was the showing agent, legally working for the seller, and splitting the commission with the listing agent. A buyer's agent is someone who contracts with the buyer, usually for a flat fee (not a commission), to represent the buyer and only the buyer. Unfortunately, many people who go around calling themselves a buyer's agent are nothing of the kind: they are agents who are not good enough at selling to have any listings of their own. They survive by trying to be the first to show buyers a house, and then they demand half of the commission if "their" buyer ends up buying the house. Consequently, these agents are keen to show you lots of houses, which impresses some buyers tremendously.
I spent a day with one of these agents, driving around to look at houses I had researched, I had found driving directions to, etc.; all this guy did was use his magic dongle to unlock the lock boxes on the doors of unoccupied houses. I'd given him a list in advance but he didn't bother to arrange for us to see any of the occupied houses. I guess he figured a drive by would pass as first showing. After that experience, I dealt only with the listing agent of each house I looked at.
Harmless to check. You can probably find out from google. If you'll tell me what state you are in, I can look about too. I might find it faster because I kinda know what I am looking for.
Most agents get a small kickback for this from the 'inspector'. Before you think that is horrible, be at ease. As long as they do an honest report, thats ok. Normally, they do an honest report because they can be held liable in most places for gross negligence if they do not.
Too bad. I'd have thought he would know enough to at least say 'gee, I can tell that is really serious' or 'gee, sorry, this level I cant tell if it's serious or not'
We all do. I didnt even blink at the 1725$ for the chimney repair I needed. I did not bother to get a second estimate. I went with an old established company I knew and had used before, well recommended by others in my area. Extremely HIGH quality work. Because they are a franchise, I can not say if that comany would be good anywhere else, but here they are top choice.
Flowers and bulbs, low maintenance bulbs are planted in late fall or earliest spring. I'm slightly seeging topics here but if you are serious still that you may want to sell, 'curb appeal' can make a whopping huge difference.
Mom used to 'flip houses' (new term, we didnt have a name for it then) for a living. Her and us 3 kids would live in the house, fix it, then sell it for a profit. We'd live off the proceeds and put the seed money into another. It was in South Carolina where we had one that we did almost nothing but paint and put up a little wallpaper, and fix the yard. 3,000 bulbs, 4 trees, a lilac 'garden', azaleas, roses, gardinias. A few pansies but most was 'plant and forget'. Though some bulb types have to be dug up in winter then replanted or they get 'confused and come up wierd looking next year' most do not. We sold that house with 5 competing buyers all offering more and more til one was the winner. We even had bulb types that flowered all different seasons so you'd see some in fall. Amaranth? Sorry, been to long to recall well.
I have much of that here too.
They simply didnt rewire it. They just replaced the outlet with a 3 prong type and left the ground not plugged into anything. Grin, learn to use a multimeter and it takes seconds to see that one.
I have the same in some areas but some of the house was rewired to a proper true 3 prong. Livingroom, kitchen, bar, 1 of the 3 bedrooms, much of back porch, garage. I have 3 bedrooms with 2 prong and no ground wires run. 7 of the 19 outlets on the back porch just 'look like 3 prong' but arent really. I have no outlets in either bathroom (something we'd fix if selling but it actually doesnt bother us any at all).
Welcome! The most trying time for a new homeowner, is the first 2 years. Suddenly instead of it being 'some one elses problem, its YOURS'. But as time goes on, you start building equity and that feels *wonderful* once you have been there a bit and start to notice it. At first all you notice is the problems and the costs.
I bought at 83,500$ in 1995. The only reason why my house is only worth
160,000$ now is I am top end for my neighborhood. My 'mortgage' is fixed (never do anything else! Change if you went variable as soon as you can when the rates are low!) and still only 766$ a month which includes the taxes and insurance. Because we also kick an extra amount at them every 3 months of about 300$ which comes straight off the principle owed, we now 'own' a bit over 1/2 the house. My rate can never go up though the portion which is insurance or taxes can.
It's a 4 BR, 1.5 bath with full garage (which is still a garage and attached landry room) 1,100sq ft. Rental value alone in my area is 1,100 for the place next door with no fireplace, no enclosed garage, no back porch (mine is HUGE), only 3 BR 1 bath, postage stamp sized 850sq.
Thats doesnt mean much. They could genuinely have thought it was cosmetic and made cosmetic repairs. You'd have to be able to 'prove' otherwise.
Case in point. I just spent 750$ on a plummer. I split pipes in the cold due to a defective pipe heater that may have been as much as 20 years old. The real reason is the roof area it lead to was totally uninsulated yet that was hidden by a solid plywood 'roof' so no one knew except the origional owner that he'd installed itt hat way. I am the 3rd owner than the 2nd one would not have known it either. Both me and the one I bought from knew there was a pipe heater and to plug it in, but neither knew there was zero insulation up there.
Before I get all lawyered up, I'd find out the total extent of the problems, which no one knows at this point. If you have only $5K in repairs, then small claims is likely going to be the best option. It's very unlikely an attorney is going to take this kind of case on contingency, unless the potential recovery is large. Between attorney's fees and expert witness fees, you have to make a rational decision of what this could cost, vs what you MIGHT win. And then there is the issue of collecting. Getting a judgement and collecting are two different things.
I'd ask around for references for lawyers from people you know.
Isn't that always the excuse - kickbacks are OK if the work is goodanyway. :-/ The *problem* is - it's an incentive that works better if the work isn't good (more for less work) or in the interest of the agent (dishonest). That the inspection would be good would be in spite of, not because of or even neutral with regard to, the kickback.
It's well worthwhile for a buyer to get his or her own inspector. Even if it means hiring one *and* going along with the inspection the agent insists on.
He's honest enough to say that he doesn't have the expertise regarding foundations. That's a Good Thing.
He can consult once with a lawyer about property matters in order to know what the law is and requirements are w.r.t. disclosure. He doesn't have to "lawyer up" to gain benefit from legal advice.
two rolled on coats of an epoxy paint (always have pinholes etc with on coat) would seal the surfaces just fine (and look good). Of course that will not do anything about why the cracks formed or stop future cracking. Cost for the epoxy would be about $1 to $1.50 (for 2 coats). you could just epoxy and fiberglass cloth the cracks one by one.....
Yes, many lawyers offer a free consultation. But you need to have some common sense going into this. He doesn't even know the extent of the problems. I'd concentrate on that before worrying about choosing a lawyer. If he's out $2K, it's a whole different picture than being out $50K. It's better he know which it is before he wastes time with a lawyer based on hypotheticals.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.