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That may be their plan. To keep themselves safe. All the more reason to document, get copies, and to email with the people you are getting info from.
Curious how long the couple lived in the house. Do they do this kind of thing often, make a mess, keep secrets and move on? You can look up what else they owned. Maybe see if neighbors know anything.
And one thing they may come up with pretty quickly is suing for defamation/libel/slander or something like that just so you'll get scared and stop any action. So be careful to state fact when you write or speak.
Of course, best to get an attorney.
I will be careful. I haven't talked to them since shortly after I moved in, and I'll watch what I say to be sure it's straight fact! The couple never lived in the house: they bought it to flip it. The neighbors have earned me about the fact that they never saw real tradespeople in the house, just handymen, other than the basement waterproofing guy.
A good example of proof of that (and lack of permits) is that the finished upstairs has no outlets on one entire half of the room. They put up drywall, but failed to add outlets (it's a cape cod 1.5 story)!
Hmmm.
The way I read your statement is That you were AWARE of the problems BEFORE you bought/closed {except the permit part}. You knew he had a wet basement problem due to the "dry basement system" {french drain whatever it is called} he supposedly was having/had installed, and paid $$$ for. The fact he stressed the $$$ part should have clued you. You also noticed wet carpets, weeping walls in the laundry room, even on your " final walkthrough" BEFORE closing the carpet was STILL WET. BUYER BEWARE. REgardless his "answer" to the wet carpet...I never heard of a furnace installation causing a "wet carpet" problem, unless you mean a water boiler for steam or hot water baseboard heating system. Even then, it should not be "wet". YOU should have THEN done MORE 'due dilligence" Before proceeding to buy. You were "on notice".
Flippers ALWAYS "cut corners", hide truths, etc. They want to "get in, get out" as quick as possible and make you pay far more than the hosue is worth.
You had a chance then with all this knowledge to back out, to ask for a remedy to the situation, or go ahead with the purchase. You chose to go ahead and purchase. AGAIN, BUYER BEWARE.
YOu MAY NOT have a leg to stand on, Since you KNEW BEFORE you bought, and now that you opened up the can of worms over the unpermited additional work, the town CAN make you rip it all out...and rebuild it ...at your cost {with the proper permits this time, of course}. I've seen it happen.
He is a RE agent, he may know just which rules he can break and get away with. BEWARE of slandering him to "put him out of business" as a RE agent. THAT could backfire on you. SO tread carefully! Simply saying he was a "bad RE agent" can cause you enough problems.
CONTACT A RE attorney...it may cost you big bucks, but if you have ANY recourse, he will know how to proceed. DOn't be surprised otherwise.
Galaxyhi, thanks for your opinion. Not the prevailing one here, but appreciated nonetheless for its different perspective. My RE agent recommended a lawyer, from whom I waiting for a call. The official word from my insurance company is that they won't cover it because "sub-surface water" isn't covered.
Regarding the permitting issue, that may actually work out in my favor in the end. My title insurance covers instances where I'm forced to remedy issues for lack of permits. So if my township did insist, I have coverage enough for it.
I'm still trying to figure out where I'm going to get the thousands of dollars needed to fix the water coming into my basement. It's not as if I have that left over after purchasing the house.
I met someone with a house with water coming in the sides. First we thought let's put one of the clamshell things over the ground level window wells. Long story short, it needed much more work. But I'll tell you, in warm weather with the door to the basement closed, I reached out once for the banister and it felt nice and soft and fuzzy. They had baby shoes and other things they were saving for decades and had left them on a ledge near the steps. They were nice and soft and fuzzy too. Mold, of course.
Just a word about insurance and wet basements. If it wasn't determined to be a wet basement before and it is now, they will require you to fix it. A friend's basement was massively flooded by Sandy years back, and when the insurance found out there was a leak in the basement, they threatened to remove her coverage until she got a sump pump and drain system installed.
[url=http://www.newjerseylemonlawlawyerblog.com/2015/02/how_to_buy_a_house_and_hire_a.html]How to buy a house and hire a realtor :: New Jersey Lemon Law Lawyer Blog[/url]
Take a look at your real estate contract that was signed by seller/buyer and agents.
It's possible that there is a clause where you gave away rights to sue and instead agreed to mitigation. Many realtor provided contracts have such a clause.
Long, complicated situation here regarding a house I purchased last July. Please bear with me, I'll try to sum it up as succinctly as possible.
Seller hired a contractor to install a french drain made it clear he'd "put a lot of money" into water issues in the basement. Basement, by the time I had my home inspector go through, was 3/4 finished, with a small unfinished area where the washer and dryer/furnace/ac are. In this unfinished area, there was a spot on the wall with two weep holes about 6 inches up from the floor leading to a drain in the floor. You could see water going to that drain, but it was in the unfinished portion of the basement - inspector figured it was an old system that still worked.
Starting in late November, I began to notice water in the finished portion of the basement. Carpets soaked, water coming up from under flooring in basement bathroom. AFter a lot of searching and ruling things out that it couldn't be, I finally gave up and called the guy who'd put in the french drain to see what he thought.
He finally came out to my place today, and what I learned is horrifying. Basically, there are weep holes throughout the basement. Contractor who put in french drain was hired to only install french drain, he warned that this would only handle ground water, not wall water. When they finished the drain, apparently the seller contacted the contractor about water pouring in through the wall holes. Contractor came over, tried to plug the holes, but seller refused to take down wallboard and studs he'd already put up, thus hampering the job (and contractor claims he wasn't paid for this additional work - it's not in the contract).
On a side note, at some point after my home inspection but before closing day, I was visiting the house to take measurements. I noted that the basement carpet was a bit wet, and told my RE agent. She contacted the seller (who is, btw, also a RE agent) and he claimed it was just from the furnace they'd replaced (should have known better I guess). So here is, I believe, more proof that the seller just simply covered up the walls and crossed his fingers that nothing would be noticed until the closing went through.
Contractor states it could cost upwards of $15k to fix the issue, what with taking down studs and drywall, doing the waterproofing correctly, then putting back up studs and drywall. Home warranty doesn't cover it, doesn't sound like home insurance is going to cover it either, though I am going to have a claims person come out.
To top off this instance, I have learned that the seller got no permits for any of the work done in the house: there is new plumbing in the basement and 2nd floor (both of which were previously unfinished), there is a new electrical subpanel that we said had to be installed - and none of these got township permits.
What do you think: if I have the testimony of this contractor, the fact that no permits were pulled, and all this damage, is there any type of case for fraud? The seller's disclosure says only "Previous waterproofing system and undersized sump pit were removed and new system and larger pit were installed."
Thanks for reading and for your opinions.
What did your inspector say specifically about this? I find it odd that you have drain holes 6" off the floor on the basement wall, a partly finished basement, and the inspector only said what you have above?
Take a look at your real estate contract that was signed by seller/buyer and agents.
It's possible that there is a clause where you gave away rights to sue and instead agreed to mitigation. Many realtor provided contracts have such a clause.
Seriously. Check it now.
I believe you meant to use the word arbitration, not mitigation.
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