Seller failed to disclose known defect

[RedZin]

Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould

I saw a show on TV where a house had charred support beams that were not uncovered in the inspection. The inspector didn't, naturally, remove any walls and this wasn't discovered until they were doing some remodeling. Apparently, there had been a fire and the sellers had just covered it up. Would this come under buyer beware? Or would you be expected to reveal if there had been a house fire?

I agree that if it was in inexpensive fix, I would just do it and move on.

However, I would still contact the real estate agents and inspector to tell them what I'd discovered and how much it cost to repair.

Because, every once in awhile, you run across ethical people.

And that's always a joy.

That's true enough.

We have a situation right now where we cannot run our gas fireplace for more than about an hour before we get a burning, plasticky smell and have to open all our windows.

We have had the fireplace people out here twice. They cannot find anything wrong. We suspect that the prior owners, while installing a home theater system, ran pipes with cables too close to the firebox. We will have to repair this if we ever want to use the fireplace. Given that they used the system after install, what are the odds that the sellers had NO clue about this horrible smell?

[wheelsup]

Originally Posted by GotHereQuickAsICould

If it were me, I'd let a small claims court judge judge decide if throwing down a few towels and a piece of insulation qualified as fixing a roof leak.

What he'd really be deciding is if the sellers did what they are being accused of. And a photo 3 months later, with no leaks prior, doesn't prove a thing.

[danielbmartin]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

... suggest you contact Ark Roofing in Apex. They specialize in repairs, are honest and quite well-regarded.
Ark Roofing Company, Inc. Business Review in Apex, NC - Eastern North Carolina BBB

I second the motion. Ark did good work for me.

Daniel B. Martin

[jerdon]

Wow! What a discussion to come back to! I agree ( and may have even mentioned it in my original post) that the burden of proof is on us and it would be our word against theirs. We have contacted our realtor and are in the process of finding a company to do the repairs. We are no strangers to spending money on home maintenance having owned a fixer upper prior to this and were more alarmed about being deceived than actually about making the repair. It makes me question what else may have been intentionally hidden. We anticipate giving the seller the opportunity to respond, but assuming this doesn't cost thousands of dollars, most likely won't pursue legal action since that would be pound foolish.