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.
am i liable for previous owner's damage to someone else's property?
so i bought a property and apparently it had damaged my neighbor's property. my neighbor told me today i was responsible for the damages even though it occurred while the property was under someone else's ownership.
some extra details:
i was not made aware of this until the neighbor told me about 2-3 months ago and i told him i needed time to fix it(damage from my side causing damage to his side, i figured i would only need to fix my side) because i had just got the place and i also had to fix some other problems as well. fast foward 2-3 months and he brings it up again today except he tells me i am liable for the damages caused by my house to his property now because im the new owner even though this happened before i came into ownership of the place. he tells me its common sense and since i bought the place i assumed the responsibility which made no sense to me... why should i be responsible for the damage from a previous owner to someone else's property? i live in Pennsylvania, philadelphia. if anyone can offer any insight please do so... im lost.
i feel like he knows im rather young and hes trying to take advantage of me. i told him multiple times this makes no sense and he keeps saying we either can do this the easy way or the hard way and he was trying to help me out by working it out without getting the insurance involved. im about to tell him to just get the insurance involved because i honestly dont see how this makes any sense on my part to fix his damages from the previous owner's negligence.
1. What exactly was the damages?
2. Were the damages a result of something specific on your property or are the damages an ongoing issue because of your property.
3. Did you ask him to file with his insurance company and have his insurance company contact your insurance company?
4. Have you contacted the previous owner to see if they already compensated the neighbor for the damges?
No, you inherited no liability for an act of nature nor of negligence of the previous owner, if it all happened before you purchased the property. Your neighbor needs to talk to the previous owner and to that owner’s insurance company, not yours.
Tell him that it has nothing to do with you and that it’s not your problem.
the damages are still ongoing since the problem was never fixed but it has already done its damage. i have no contacted the previous owner to see if he compensated the neighbor for the damages because i doubt he did. i did not ask him to file with his insurance company because he made it seem like that would be the worse thing he could do and he wanted to do me a "favor" by working it out with me. if the damage is still ongoing since it was never addressed yet, am i liable? i already told him i was going to fix my side but like i said, he wants me to fix his side as well because his side got messed up supposedly by my side.
our houses are next to each other and when either side leaves the house we have a adjoining overhead that shelters you from the elements, half of it is his and i presume the other half is mine. he is claiming my side has damaged his side because water from my side is somehow damaging his side, wood is involved btw so it looks like water is rotting the wood. now i dont even know if his side was damaged by my side, it could have just been damaged already but thats what he is claiming.
our houses are next to each other and we have a adjoining overhead
he is claiming my side has damaged his side...
A gazillion homes in the country share roofs.
Damage can happen from negligence or poor maintenance/repair.
You need an OBJECTIVE source of information about the current condition
(like your inspector should have in their report) and then you need to discuss how
the LAW in YOUR state/county defines the line in these matters with your attorney
(like the one you hired to review your purchase contract and handle the sale).
the damages are still ongoing since the problem was never fixed but it has already done its damage. i have no contacted the previous owner to see if he compensated the neighbor for the damages because i doubt he did. i did not ask him to file with his insurance company because he made it seem like that would be the worse thing he could do and he wanted to do me a "favor" by working it out with me. if the damage is still ongoing since it was never addressed yet, am i liable? i already told him i was going to fix my side but like i said, he wants me to fix his side as well because his side got messed up supposedly by my side.
Do you think he already DID contact his insurance company, they paid up but now he's conning you for the money as well?
He probably tried this with the former owner who didn't pay any attention. But didn't tell you because you would be less inclined to buy. And the neighbor waiting a while to size you up before he started in on you.
Tell him you'll call your insurance company who will be in touch and contact his insurance company. See what he says.
its possible and i already know he spoke to the previous owner and agent who was renting out the place for the owner about fixing this problem since he told me. they did nothing and i also spoke to him prior to buying the place and he didnt mention it as a problem at all, i didnt bring this up because its not his job to warn me about any problems on the property but why bring it up after i buy it then?
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.
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.
Bad property
