Recourse on Home Purchase (Bloomfield: hardwood floors, real estate, appliances) - New Jersey (NJ) - City-Data Forum

blackandproud · 12-15-2009, 08:59 AM

I just recently purchased a home in Bloomfield. The house had wall to wall very thick carpet in the dining room and living room which is not the norm. The seller of the house stated that the wood floors were in perfect condition, most likely just needed to be refinished.

We went in this weekend to finally pull up the carpets to start working on the floors and found the following,

- Cement filled area where the fireplace once stood - 11x17 picture frame.
- three holes in each corner of the living room
- where the heating baseboard there was apparently a leak, because the wood in that area has water damage and of course mold.

speaking with the contractor, the floor will need to be ripped up all the way to the studs in the living room, because its not safe.

The former owners lived in the house for over 47 years, the carpet was not put down until 87' (i know this because someone in her family wrote their name with magic marker all over the wood floors before they layed down the carpet. Do I have any recourse. Should the owners have devulge the cement in the floor as well as the holes?

icibiu · 12-15-2009, 09:38 AM

I'm no expert but I doubt you have any recourse on this. You had your opportunity to inspect the house and any faults you didn't find or bring up at that time become your problem. Plus the carpet was not brand new so it's not like they just installed it before they put the house on the market and decided to be deceitful. Maybe they really did "remember" it as being in good condition, maybe in their minds THAT is good condition.

Trust me I know it sucks, we just bought a house a month ago and it had carpet in the living room, we ripped it up first order or business when we got the keys. Only to discover that at some point the living room had been expanded and the additional 200 sq. feet they put in? Well they only laid down plywood instead of continuing the hardwood floors. Totally sucks, the refinishing project got A LOT more expensive and now we have to wait a little longer to get them done. I'm sure it's not the last time we discover that a simple inexpensive project will end up costing a lot more and taking a lot more time than we expected. It's been happening to since the dawn of DIY

JennyJenn · 12-15-2009, 10:43 AM

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. Unfortunately, there is very little recourse in the situation you describe. If they had indicated on a Seller's Disclsoure that there were HWF and there were none...that might be a sticking point--but any claims of condition should always be verified by the Buyer before closing, or risk finding out otherwise after the closing. You can alway call your closing attorney and verify, but in my experience, claims of condition that are not followed up upon by the Buyer typically do not surive the closing and there is no recourse.

Good luck!

hrjersey · 12-15-2009, 06:40 PM

I doubt there's much you can do but call your real estate attorney just to verify. When I sold my mom's house we stated the floors were hardwood. The carpeting wasn't in great shape so we pulled up a couple of corners so prospective buyers could see for themselves.

todd72173 · 12-15-2009, 08:42 PM

You signed off on it, closing ended and you go the keys. Its yours! Along with all its problems! Its too late to do anything. Thats what the inspection is for. Next time you'll know what to look out for.

Did you get a home warranty for a year? If so, maybe that can cover some of it.

armx · 12-16-2009, 10:44 AM

Home warrantee does not cover misrepresentation. It is more of an insurnncae than a warrantee. They basically, warrantee against system - plumbing, electrical, HVAC, appliances etc. - failure not against missing hardwood floor.

Sorry OP but now that you own the house only recourse is thru determination of wilful misrepresentation on Seller's part...that means to go thru your correspondence with the Seller - thru the realtors and seller's disclosure -and the lawyers .... just like everything else in life- your position is strong until you sign your name on the dotted line - on the agreement and at the settlemrnt -...after that it looks like everybody else is in control of your destiny.

HalfFull · 12-16-2009, 01:02 PM

Doesn't help you now, but someone once advised me "if it's important to you, put it in the contract." Realtors sometimes like to keep the language in the offer simple, but it's OK to insert understanding like this right in the offer.

Sorry you were misled.

blackandproud · 12-16-2009, 01:11 PM

Of course with every home purchase one will be misled about conditions. We specifically asked about the fireplace removal and the floor condition considering they had lived in the house for over 40 years.

As we pulled back the carpet, first thing we noticed was the cement area where the fireplace once stood, then noticed that magic marker writting all over the floors and finally the wet spots where the baseboard heater has apparently been leaking for years.

This would definately explain the extremely thick and expensive carpeting on the floor. One would never had known about the issues unless the carpet was removed. The son wanted to have the mother to come back to see the home after we've finished the renovations (she lost her husband of 50 years earlier this year), well ya know that won't be happening.

artDDS · 12-16-2009, 01:21 PM

If the floors were that important to you, you should have checked them thoroughly before purchasing the home. Buying a house is the probably the biggest decision and biggest purchase of your life. A little due diligence would have avoided this surprise. As other posters have said, if it was not in the contract you are out of luck.

FlyersFan · 12-16-2009, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackandproud

I just recently purchased a home in Bloomfield. The house had wall to wall very thick carpet in the dining room and living room which is not the norm. The seller of the house stated that the wood floors were in perfect condition, most likely just needed to be refinished.

We went in this weekend to finally pull up the carpets to start working on the floors and found the following,

- Cement filled area where the fireplace once stood - 11x17 picture frame.
- three holes in each corner of the living room
- where the heating baseboard there was apparently a leak, because the wood in that area has water damage and of course mold.

speaking with the contractor, the floor will need to be ripped up all the way to the studs in the living room, because its not safe.

The former owners lived in the house for over 47 years, the carpet was not put down until 87' (i know this because someone in her family wrote their name with magic marker all over the wood floors before they layed down the carpet. Do I have any recourse. Should the owners have devulge the cement in the floor as well as the holes?

Yes....they must disclose ANY known defects.....most reputable realtors have the seller fill out a disclosure form so they can show the buyer....the defects you noted should be on that form. If they don't disclose ALL known defects thats FRAUD in New Jersey and the law states they are liable for your cost PLUS tripple damages if you can prove they knew and didn't disclose.