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Now, the previous owner did contract a builder and it was built in 2007. Does the previous owner know, maybe. Multiple problem with this brand of pipe started showing up on the West Coast in 2009+ and the company was folded and a settlement was reached in 2011. The previous owner did live here from 2007 until 2017. So in all likelihood probably didn't know, if they knew about the settlement. Some home owners have received payouts from the settlement.
I will apply for the settlement to recoup the repair bill and cost of re-piping. If the previous owner did make a claim and received settlement money then I do believe I have a good case. The only problem I discover is that the previous owner has foreclosed on this property and another property so might be difficult to pursue.
I am just checking on whether what my recourse will be. I definitely will get on the company to claim settlement money for the repairs and for repiping.
If you bought it as a foreclosure from the bank than it would not be the previous owners responsibility to disclose. And Im pretty sure most foreclosures are sold ‘As is”, so you would have no claim to pursue anyway.
If you bought it as a foreclosure from the bank than it would not be the previous owners responsibility to disclose. And Im pretty sure most foreclosures are sold ‘As is”, so you would have no claim to pursue anyway.
"ok"
IF it was purchased as an REO, I hope the OP got a great deal, because he owns the issue outright.
I bought a home 6 months ago, living in it for 4 months without much issue until a hot water pipe cracked and it was fixed. It wasn't easy as I discovered it used a custom pipes that was no longer made and had lawsuits settled almost 7 years ago. The pipes are said to have design defects that are ticking time bombs.
Fortunately it wasn't behind a difficult section where it cracked, it was a hot water pipe that had a small bend that probably cracked due to the aluminum casing inside fractured over time and ripping the rubber covering.
Had 3 different plumbers came and all walked off and finally had one plumber that was willing to do a custom fitting to reconnect the cracked section.
The piping in question is made by IPEX or Kitec, the lawsuit settlement is here:
Now, I believe the seller has some liability with not disclosing this whether or not they knew Kitec was used. Am I right, that I have a case here to sue the seller for defects not disclosed?
Every previously owned home has its idiosyncrasies. When you buy it there is a learning process getting to know what's what. Even if you were told the plumbing had been "upgraded" to IPEX you wouldn't have known of any significance at the time. If the plumbing worked fine for your first 4 months it is unlikely the owner knew their was any problem with it. It is reasonable to presume that if they were aware of a problem they would have complained and then found out about the Kitec suit.
In NY you can give a credit at closing in lieu of the disclosure. If you got that $500 credit you are SOL no matter what.
I never realized it before, but from now on, I am going to think of that credit as the "Nope, I don't have ESP so I didn't disclose things I wasn't aware of" clause
I think in Florida polyethylene piping was on my disclosure form, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the homeowner would know about it. When I bought my house I had no idea there was aluminum wiring. Then I had an offer fall through and that inspector also did not find the aluminum. It was not until the 2nd buyer’s inspection that the inspector found the aluminum and I got it fixed/inspected. I am not a home inspector or electrician, so I would have no reason to know otherwise.
Close call!
Like other posters, I wouldn't know which brand of pipe (or 14/2, or breakers, or telephone wire, or thermostat wire) I have in my house, if I didn't have to work with it personally. I do know my panel is a Square D, but that's it!
My house has this ****ty plumbing in it also,bought it 3 years ago and found out about it maybe a year ago but so far I've only had 1 plumbing problem but don't think it was due to the kitek plumbing.
In our area it was made known to home owners that their house had Kitec. If the seller was the original owner, or was the owner when the issue was discovered they should have received a written notification.
Very well compiled explanation of what really are common and elementary issues.
So elementary that even a modestly active RE agent should know what to look for.
but not declare what it is.
Most inspectors that I work with in my market will point out such items to the Buyer verbally/in person. But the inspection process/report has been made very "uniform" and opinions on what cannot be visually seen aren't part of it. The upside is that you know you're getting a licensed professional (in my market, we have no idea where wharton operated or when). The downside is that some "off-report" highly valuable info may not get conveyed.
Last edited by BoBromhal; 08-08-2018 at 06:34 PM..
It would be nice if homeowners, and potential buyers had a more grounded view of the worth of home inspectors. As a retired custom home builder, I find them to be about on par with used car salespeople, but slightly less competent. I have seen cases where they have done everything from repeatedly ignoring asbestos duct wrap, missing a three story brick chimney that was falling away from a building (wobbling like like a tall thin sapling as you gently pushed on it, with a three inch gap between it and the building at the top) missing substandard and dangerous wiring, serious code and life safety issues, claiming a home was wired in Aluminum Romex when there wasn't a single inch of the stuff in the house, and countless other serious problems. AFTER you move in, and discover these problems as a victim of the inspector's gross incompetence, you then learn that they are totally free of any responsibility for anything they do. I have seen more than one damaged homeowner who marched off to a lawyer, inspection report in hand, only to find out that they are totally screwed and can't even get a refund for the money they wasted on the report.
I'm not saying that the OP is a victim of an incompetent inspection. I am saying however, that knowing the material used for ALL supply lines, and drainage material, within the house, is something a competent inspector should be 100% aware of, and have the ability to document. I seriously doubt that a defective material can be 100% concealed from view, it's possible but unlikely. The other issue is competence and knowing if a defective material is prevalent in the region and neighborhood. A lot of product, like Quest, was highly localized. I spent decades working in one region, saw one retailer who sold it to homeowners for a short period of time, and never saw or heard of it used in local, new construction. OTOH, in other parts of the country it was used extensively. As an inspector you should be competent enough to look at the date the place was built, and where it's located, then decide if you need to really look for unusual issues with specific materials, Asbestos, Aluminum Romex, Quest supply lines, etc.... Sadly that isn't the case, and often the $500-800 check written to the "professional home inspector" is nothing but money wasted.
Nice job of generalizing and lumping us all into one category. I will counter with this; Many of the problems you have seen a home inspector miss, a builder or contractor created that problem to begin with. Plenty of people in all professions are substandard, and plenty are quite good. Maybe you operated in a state with limited licensing and oversight. This is a relatively new profession in the grand scheme of things, and has changed dramatically since i started in the late 80's, especially the last 10-15 years.
OP said "My inspection report did not reveal the Kitec PEX pipes were used because none of them were exposed.
When I was having my bathroom remodeled upstairs, all I saw was copper and brass pipes and fittings, I didn't see any poly pipes of the sort. "
Since none of the Kitec pipes were exposed, you can't expect a home inspector to tell you the house has them.
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