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Doubtful. You've already approved the inspection, or signed an As Is Addendum, and closed your transaction. Is there a problem with your heating and cooling system? How do you know now, that it was not installed by a licensed person?
Been told by owner it was installed by Building Contractor which never got a permit I found out after buying and is not a heating and cooling contractor but a general contractor. The warranty of the unit could be void because of this.
Is there anything a buyer can do if they find out the (whatever)
was never installed by a licensed contractor?
LOTs of work is done (quite well too) by people who aren't licensed contractors.
Quote:
...told by owner it was... never got a permit
The question is whether the county requires permits and/or inspections
and whether the work was done correctly enough to pass such an inspection.
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As to the legalities of whether you have any recourse to remedy this NOW...
this needs to be addressed by a local RE attorney.
I suggest that you ask the same attorney you hired to handle your purchase, closing,
and the contract review (that so many here insist buyers don't really need).
First thing first. Are the unit/s still new enough that Warranty is still an issue? If so, contact the manufacturer and ask whether the warranty even requires installation by a licensed HVAC contractor (with a permit?) ... and, if so, what you must do to ensure that these units are covered under warranty. Optionally, you can always buy a home warranty that will cover these and other appliances.
Otherwise, unless you are experiencing problems or have real concerns about the functional operation of these units, it sounds like you have too much time on your hands.
Been told by owner it was installed by Building Contractor which never got a permit I found out after buying and is not a heating and cooling contractor but a general contractor. The warranty of the unit could be void because of this.
Does the disclosure not have a section:
"Are you aware of any work upon the property which required a building, plumbing, electrical, or any other permit? Was a permit obtained? Was the work approved by an inspector?"
Where are you located? Your only, maybe, chance is that if:
A) A permit would have been required and
B) As part of dealing with the permit process, they would have been required to hire a licensed HVAC contractor and
C) They never disclosed the work was done without a permit and
D) Your disclosure rules require disclosing any unpermitted work the seller is aware of.
Even in this case, you are dealing with a major stretch, especially since you can't show any actual damages yet. Even if you had a blown furnace and the manufacturer won't honor the warranty because they say it was installed wrong, causing the problem, I wouldn't bet on getting anything meaningful out of it. It is just too hard to get past the assumption that you are buying the house without a warranty.
First thing first. Are the unit/s still new enough that Warranty is still an issue? If so, contact the manufacturer and ask whether the warranty even requires installation by a licensed HVAC contractor (with a permit?) ... and, if so, what you must do to ensure that these units are covered under warranty. Optionally, you can always buy a home warranty that will cover these and other appliances.
Otherwise, unless you are experiencing problems or have real concerns about the functional operation of these units, it sounds like you have too much time on your hands.
Unit is ownly five months old and this county does require a permit for any new work. The unit is a Goodman which has a five year warranty and I have been spending my time on this house fixing problems that was covered up. The FHA inspection never found any of these problems.
Goodman requires the installation to be by a licensed HVAC contractor or the warreny is void. Now, just because the system was "installed" by the GC doesn't mean it wasn't actually installed by a licensed HVAC technician. Many times a GC will sub contract HVAC work. To the average know nothing homeowner, they think the GC did the actual work because they just assumed the guy working on the system worked for the GC. Also, because the HVAC tech billed the GC and the GC rebilled the homewoner after adding their markup, the homeowner didn't realize there was another "licensed contractor" on the job.
Regarding any action, did you have anything in your purchase contract regarding the HVA system being installed by a licensed HVAC contractor, or was it a requiremnt that the system was working at time of closing? As for the warranty, this is from the warranty for your unit (based on the lowest qulaity unit which is only 5 years):
Who Does This Warranty Cover? This warranty only covers the original owner of the residence
as of the installation date (as defined below), and his or her
spouse (“owner”).
You may no warranty even if installed by a licensed HVAC contractor with permits 2 day before you closed.
Goodman requires the installation to be by a licensed HVAC contractor or the warreny is void. Now, just because the system was "installed" by the GC doesn't mean it wasn't actually installed by a licensed HVAC technician. Many times a GC will sub contract HVAC work. To the average know nothing homeowner, they think the GC did the actual work because they just assumed the guy working on the system worked for the GC. Also, because the HVAC tech billed the GC and the GC rebilled the homewoner after adding their markup, the homeowner didn't realize there was another "licensed contractor" on the job.
Regarding any action, did you have anything in your purchase contract regarding the HVA system being installed by a licensed HVAC contractor, or was it a requiremnt that the system was working at time of closing? As for the warranty, this is from the warranty for your unit (based on the lowest qulaity unit which is only 5 years):
Who Does This Warranty Cover? This warranty only covers the original owner of the residence
as of the installation date (as defined below), and his or her
spouse (“owner”).
You may no warranty even if installed by a licensed HVAC contractor with permits 2 day before you closed.
Owner before me buys houses to fix up for resale only and he had the HVAC unit installed before I came along. I'm have a feeling this contractor is a very small company like working out of their house type. The work doesn't look bad and the only thing I could find wrong is the duct work shield between the brick and unit doesn't have any caulking around it. The owner before me had it sold to another couple but couldn't get a FHA loan because the owner didn't have title insurance at the time. I wonder if I get a Goodman contractor that would go over this unit and duct work if I could get the warranty through them instead?
Thanks
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