Help! Extensive flooding occurred at property after due diligence period!!! (Blythe: foreclosure, home owners insurance)

[Bukkyakin]

Hello.

I need help.

I closed ona proprty on Thursday afternoon. I walked into the property on Friday morning and it is flooded. The damage was extensive and mold growth had begun.

The closing was originally scheduled for the 25th but was rescheduled for a week later. I had conducted an inspection on the property on the 21st. The inspection report noted that the water had not been turned on. There wa no water service at the property.

The water damage expert says the flooding must have occurred for at least a week. I have no idea who turned the water on. I can't find out until Monday.

What are my options? This was a Freddie Mac property and Bought it as is. I did not do a final walk through on day of closing because I was trying to make sure the funding went through successfully. This was a cash transaction.

The water event occurred after my due diligence period and before closing. What can I do.

Thanks

[cittic10]

What a nightmare!

What was the cause of the flooding? Was it rain or a burst pipe?
I had a similar issue with a house I bought once upon a time. The air conditioning drain pipe leaked inside the wall and the day I moved in I was greeted by a soaked carpet and mold growing on the wall.

I contacted the insurance company who took care of it completely.

I would check with your policy (hopefully you have insurance on it!!) and see what types of water damage are covered and call the ins co immediately.

[George Chong]

What I read is that you closed on the property on Thursday and discovered the water damage on Friday? If so, contact your home insurance company.

[vamos]

Since you bought the property "as is," I doubt that you have any recourse toward the seller - especially since you did have the property inspected.

Your home inspector noted that water at the property had been turned off - thereby preventing him/her from any tests related to water, and essentially releasing him/her from any liability in that regard - unless you can legally prove that he should have/could have noted the problem somehow. Even then, you'd be looking at a lawsuit to recover any money.

To make matters worse, you also failed to do a final walk through during which, as I understand it, you would have discovered the problem. Had you done the walk through, you would have discovered the problem, and you would likely not have purchased the property without having this issue resolved, first.

Unless you purchased home owners insurance that started on the day of your closing, my best guess is that you will be stuck with the damages. Even if you purchased home owners insurance, the insurance inspector might determine what your water damage expert already determined: That the problem has existed for about a week. If so, your insurance will likely decline to cover the damage as it would be seen as having occurred outside of the coverage period.

Still, I think your biggest problem will be that you purchased "as is" without any warranties - doing so basically puts the ball completely in your hands.

[Bukkyakin]

Thanks for your responses. The cause of the flood was the cold water valve in the laundry. The valve wa left on slightly. Some one must have connected the water sometime and the valve was not shut off completely perhaps Blythe inspector. I plan to call Gwinnett water resources to find out who authorized and when the water was cited. Hopefully that will help.

And no. I have no insurance. Sid not even know I was supposed to get one with a cash transaction. Hard lesson

[MovedfromFL]

No insurance? So if the place burned down tomorrow, you would be out whatever you paid for it?

Kind of a big risk.

I had the same thing with the water happen in the house we currently rent. The management company or whoever left the laundry value full ON and when I had water connected, it flooded. Luckily, the water guy checked the meter after he turned it on, and saw that it was moving. He immediately turned the water back off, preventing a major disaster. Still, the landlord had to get a company to pull up the edges of the carpet and put dryers for a few days.

[Southern man]

You need to saturate the wet area with Clorox.

[FlyingFox]

This is a voluntary foreclosure waiting to happen.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by FlyingFox

This is a voluntary foreclosure waiting to happen.

It was a cash transaction, so who's going to foreclose???

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

It was a cash transaction, so who's going to foreclose???

Bank of America robo-signers have done that in the past. Why not also this time?

robo-signing [Burbed.com]