Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Ohio > Cincinnati
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 10-21-2013, 04:12 PM
 
1 posts, read 4,307 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

I recently purchased my first home in Cincinnati Ohio. I realize with purchasing an older home (built in 1920s) that I will have to make repairs to the house. However, on MOVE IN DAY we noticed the kitchen ceiling leaking when the upstairs bathroom faucet would run. This leak was not disclosed by the seller. He disclosed that water entry in the kitchen had been fixed 2 months prior due to flashing missing between roof and chimney. My current leak has no relation to rain, but was directly correlated to the upstairs sink. It was also not picked up during my inspection.

I called my home warranty company who sent out a plumber who was ready to tear apart my bathroom and kitchen (both of which are very nicely updated), at the tune to $1000. My home warranty will only cover repairs to pipes themselves - not the demo or reconstruction. Since the plumber couldn't access the pipes, he took my $100 deposit and left, leaving me with no new information or an idea of how to fix the problem. We decided to go through the kitchen ceiling ourselves and found SEVERELY corroded cast iron pipes (the seller had listed plumbing as an update from 2011) that had about a 2 foot fissure through the bottom of the pipe. When we turned the water back on and ran the faucet, every drop of water came pouring out of the pipe directly into my kitchen. This obviously has been a problem for a very long time and one that the seller HAD to know about.

It is now going to cost me a lot of money to have a plumber come out to find and replace ALL of the corroded cast iron piping as well as the rehab it will take to make my bathroom and kitchen functioning again. Not to mention the fact that I have only lived in the house for a week.

My question is, what should be my next course of action? Do I assume home ownership and all that comes with it or do I contact the seller and hold him accountable? Is this worth a potential law suit? I contacted my real estate agent and she was of no help whatsoever.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-21-2013, 04:43 PM
 
Location: Mason, OH
9,259 posts, read 16,732,242 times
Reputation: 1956
Ypu raise some very good questions. If you had a home inspection, I would go that direction first. Why did not the inspection divulge this plumbing problem? If on top of it you had paid for a home warranty, definitely go after them. The whole point of a home warranty is you do not end up holding the bag. Perhaps you do have to contact a lawyer to determine just where you stand.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2013, 02:53 PM
 
Location: Mason, OH
9,259 posts, read 16,732,242 times
Reputation: 1956
The more I think about your predicament the more the hair on the back of my neck stands up. What do you mean your home warranty will pay for the repair of the pipes but not for the demo or restoration to get to them? What the Hell kind of a warranty is that? It might cost you more in the long run, but my own constitution would force me to consult an attorney and go after both the inspection outfit, water through the kitchen ceiling from corroded pipes in the upstairs bathroom encountered on the first day you move in? give me a break, and the home warranty outfit. I would charge both of them with fraud. People need to speak up and say NO I was defrauded and I will not stand for it.

You are correct an older home will require several repairs over the long run which you realized. But you did the right thing and had both an inspection and a home warranty, neither one of which are now wanting to take responsibility. Water through your kitchen ceiling on the first day of moving in?

Get an attorney and go after them. Even if you lose, you will have the satisfaction of putting up a good fight. Have a professional correct the plumbing and repair the kitchen ceiling. Put those costs in the suit you file against both companies, the inspection and warranty outfits. Let your attorney advise how much more you want to claim for pain and suffering

If you just back down and absorb all of the financial punishment yourself, it will permit all of these gre*dy bastards to continue to ply on innocent people.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-23-2013, 09:51 AM
 
Location: Mason, OH
9,259 posts, read 16,732,242 times
Reputation: 1956
Just another thought. Since you said the problem showed up immediately when you turned on the water in the upstairs bathroom sink (lavratory correct?), I have to assume the cast iron pipe is the drain? Undoubtedly at that age all of the drains were cast iron and possibly the supply too. The verticals are probably no problem. The one from the lavatory would probably be no problem if it was installed with the proper pitch so water did not lay in it. Water and cast iron are a natural corrosive action, but the water has to stay in contact for some time. You said the bathroom had been rehabbed, so that may be the source of the problem. The lavratory may have been replaced with a deeper one, altering the pitch of the drain. Whatever, you are holding the bag.

Since you say the water leak through the kitchen ceiling showed up immediately, the first day you moved in, I have some suggestions. First of all inspect the kitchen for signs of fresh paint, particularly the ceiling, as an indication water stains were concealed. This could give you a comeback against the seller for non-divulgence. Did you get an itemized statement from the inspector as to what was inspected? Did it mention the plumbing? And that home warranty, that really frosts me. Who paid for the warranty, the seller or you?

I am just stubborn enough I would have to consult a lawyer and see what my options are. He may advise you will likely spend more than you may recoup, but I would have to try, it is just my nature.

I recently filed my second homeowner's insurance policy claim in the 37 years I have lived here.

The 1st was many years ago when an aluminum patio awning built up with snow and collapsed, breaking several wrought iron outdoor chairs we had under it. I had bought the awning from a neighbor who had it replaced with an enclosed Florida room, deinstalled and installed it myself. So I was not out much money. The outdoor chairs were another story. I put in a claim and got a bid to install a new awning. Decided not to do that but buy a new patio furniture set instead, a glass top table and 6 chairs, 4 of which are rockers. Still have them.

The 2nd was a couple of weeks ago when I was pulling into our garage and the foot slipped off the brake and hit the accelerator. Pushed 4 studs off the sill plate and through the family room wall about 6 inches, quite a mess. I contacted a local remodeler and got an estimate. He managed to run it up to $3,600. I have a fair knowledge of interior construction and rehab and judged the job personally at about 2 man-days of labor complete. I decided to turn the claim in to our homeowners insurance, Nationwide. They had an adjuster out here the next business day. I give him a copy of the estimate I had obtained. He takes his own measurements and sits in his truck in my driveway for about two hours. He finally comes back in and states he found the repairs to be around $3,100, and since I had a $1,000 deductible had already prepared a $2,100 check if I would sign off on the claim. I signed the form and took the check to the bank to deposit.

I got another local acquaintance, name Pete, I know to come over and repair the wall. He is a one-man gang but always busy. I had to wait about 2 weeks, but he finally said Ken I can be over there this Saturday around 11:00 AM to repair that wall. He showed up and within 30 minutes had the displaced studs back on the sill plate and fastened down. He cut out the damaged drywall sections and went off to obtain replacements. Came back, fastened the new drywall sections, and began to tape the seams and rough mud them in. Realizing his was about done I inquired as to his charges for the day. He gives me a figure of $300. I go to the bank and withdraw cash. Give him $400 cash. He has been back twice to even up the seams with more drywll mud, for which I gave him another $100 cash.

Don't let this home warranty outfit bamboozle you. Fight them every inch of the way.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-23-2013, 04:35 PM
 
Location: Mason, OH
9,259 posts, read 16,732,242 times
Reputation: 1956
OP ... You are likely fed up by now.

If you consult an attorney, listen to him. If he says you are not likely to recoup more than your expenses then chalk it up to experience. If, like me, you are teed off bigtime, learn from the experience.

My first house I knew had been abused. The kitchen disposal was frozen shut, like someone poured cement into it. The bathroom lavatory drain had a trap which was rusted through, when you turned on the faucet the water ran all over the floor. But I recognized those things right off, the whole house was an environmental disaster. But it was exactly what I was looking for, something I could buy at about 2/3 of market value. Did my mental calculations and decided I could bring it up to par for less than the difference in price, especially since I did most of the work myself.

You are receiving a very valuable lesson for the future. NEVER purchase a house without going through and running all of the plumbing wide open. Flush all of the toilets, watch how they fill, and then flush them again. Inspect all of the mechanical systems yourself. If it is summer you can tell if the A/C is working. But turn the thermostat way up and switch to heat. If the furnace is working you should be able to tell. In the winter, do the opposite, turn the thermostat down and the setting to cool. Shouldn't take long to determine if the A/C is functioning. People have to learn how to protect themselves. Terms like home inspection, warranty, etc. are devised for the seller, not the purchaser. Unfortunately you are just now learning this.

Give us some feedback on how you resolve this problem. Other people contemplating a purchase of an older home need this feedback.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Ohio > Cincinnati
Similar Threads
View detailed profiles of:

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top