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Old 06-04-2009, 12:16 AM
 
41 posts, read 246,952 times
Reputation: 26

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Looking for some help...my wife and I recently purchased our first home, pulled into the garage, and immediately discovered that we have about a 2 ft x 2 ft patch of mold in the garage caused by a leak in the roof above. The sellers had a shelf directly underneath and it seemed like they were hiding the problem because neither we nor our inspector found the mold prior to closing.

I am in the process of getting quotes from roofers and mold remediation companies, but it looks like it will probably cost at least $2,000 to fix the problem (if not more). We are in contact with the sellers and we are hoping that they will pay at least a significant portion of the costs, but we are not sure.

What recourse do I have against the sellers and/or my inspector? The seller's indicated on the seller's disclosure that they were not aware of a mold problem; however, we can tell that they (or the owners before them) removed a portion of sheet rock from the garage and painted over some of the affected sections. In addition, the roofers have already told me that they can tell that someone tried to patch the roof without hiring a professional roofer. Therefore, it seems pretty obvious to me that they either knew or were blind and missed the huge mold growth in their garage for the time they lived there. Either way they lied or they are oblivious.

I mainly just want to fix the problem. If I have to bear some of the cost, then that is ok but I do not feel that I should bear the full cost.

Has anyone dealt with an issue like this? Should I consider consulting with an attorney?
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Old 06-04-2009, 07:35 AM
 
37,315 posts, read 59,496,953 times
Reputation: 25330
they lied probably

contact your realtor--
that is a violation of the disclosure statement that sellers' have to provide and so it is fraud frankly since value of home would have been less if you had known about it--
you can call the DA's office and see if anyone can give you some info but
but getting anything done about it will probably mean taking them to small claims court
guess this is one time where it would have paid off to buy house were owners had moved out and everything was visible
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Old 06-04-2009, 08:08 AM
 
Location: Forney Texas
2,110 posts, read 6,435,769 times
Reputation: 1185
$2000 for the repair? it should not be that high. Im a roofing estimator. PM me and I can hook you up. I do repairs on the side. And a little moldy shet rock is not a huge concern. Everyone seems to freak out when they see a bit of mold. Sometimes once the leak issue is fixed you can just clean up the sheet rock and as long as the area stays dry the mold will die.
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Old 06-04-2009, 08:12 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,772 posts, read 104,128,573 times
Reputation: 49244
Quote:
Originally Posted by loves2read View Post
they lied probably

contact your realtor--
that is a violation of the disclosure statement that sellers' have to provide and so it is fraud frankly since value of home would have been less if you had known about it--
you can call the DA's office and see if anyone can give you some info but
but getting anything done about it will probably mean taking them to small claims court
guess this is one time where it would have paid off to buy house were owners had moved out and everything was visible
I agree, contact your realtor, but this may not help much. The OP will have to prove the sellers hid the problem. He said he had 2 inspections, why 2, I don't know, but that alone may go against him.

I hope he can get some satisfaction, but I wouldn't count of it.

Good luck to the OP, keep us informed.

Nita
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Old 06-04-2009, 09:03 AM
 
Location: Forney Texas
2,110 posts, read 6,435,769 times
Reputation: 1185
Like I said those mold remediation companies are selling snake oil. Anyone can cut a piece of sheetrock out and replace it. They will do it for $1000+ and most everyone else can do it for an 1/4th of the price. You can pick who you want to use but dont be suckered into the scam that mold remediation guys are selling. They make a living off the fear they can instill on their customers.
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Old 06-04-2009, 09:57 AM
 
563 posts, read 3,732,968 times
Reputation: 325
Not all mold is the horrific kind so before going the whole hog over it do see if you can get it tested. It may be no more of an issue than fixing the roof and replacing drywall.
I have to say that the inspector did a pretty crappy job. did he not point out the unprofessional repairs to the roof? Or the fact that there was a leak that had been painted over? that is their Job!!!
Anyway, I don;t think that there is much you can do. we had a similar issue with finding that the home had been treated for a termite infestation and was not disclosed and couldn't do a thing about it.
2k for repairs sounds steep to me. We had quite a bit of reshingling and leak repairs done to our roof and didn't go over $1000. If you want a good company who doesn't try to gyp you pm me and I can give you their name.
The other thing is how about the mold clause on your home insurance? Texas has this whole shebang on the home insurance policies concerning mold so make sure your insurance is not in hot water due to it.
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Old 06-04-2009, 10:18 AM
 
Location: Texas
5,872 posts, read 8,060,442 times
Reputation: 2971
You can try your Realtor, but you probably won't have much luck. If you did the right thing and have a licensed and BONDED inspector, put a claim into them, since they didn't find it, and it will cover at least a portion of your costs.
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Old 06-04-2009, 10:51 AM
 
308 posts, read 1,228,434 times
Reputation: 96
Most mold is not harmful, unless you have severe allergies. You only have to be worried about the "black mold", which is a certain strain.

If the seller's did not know about it, then they are not liable.

Did you get a home warranty when you bought the house? If so, I would call them first.

It should not cost you more than $1000 to repair the roof and replace the sheetrock, you probably could get it done for $500-$800. Since it's in the garage, I would not worry about the mold. Just get some bleach and soak the area from above and replace the drywall that has visible mold.. The bleach will kill off the mold.
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Old 06-04-2009, 11:23 AM
 
Location: Forney Texas
2,110 posts, read 6,435,769 times
Reputation: 1185
I normally can repair a roof leak on the side for $200 to give you an idea of what it should cost. Of course if you use a large roofing company your going to pay more. Our minimum at my large company I work for is $500.
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Old 06-04-2009, 11:43 AM
 
Location: North Texas
2,482 posts, read 6,503,766 times
Reputation: 1721
Do you have the home insurance that the seller was required to purchase for you? Might want to use that for the time being and just pay the deductable. Then I will contact my inspector and raise the issue with them. And I would also seek someone on the TREC website to see if in fact there was any laws broken.
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