Home Defects: Sue the Seller, Agent, or Property Inspector?

  

Dear Bloggers,

 

A few months ago, we bought us a new home and yes, we were aware of the fact that this was not a new house. In my opinion a homeowner should look after his property. This is the thing that is occurring as the former owner has laid back in his chair and keeping up with the house that needs some work was not his thing.

Our home came with some unhappy surprises like leaks, cracks, broken mechanical systems, and other defects, the fiscal responsibility might not be ours alone. According to the lawyer we have hired for this case.

What if something was wrong with your house at the time of purchase and someone, the seller, the property seller's real estate agent, or the inspector could have or should have told us about it, but didn't?

Such problems can become known days, weeks after the sale, leaving you angry and wondering whether you really must shoulder the entire financial burden.

In such cases, you might be able to ask the responsible person to pitch in and take the matter to court if they do not. Ideally, you'll be able to resolve matters without filing a lawsuit suit.

Minor Home Defects or Natural Aging Aren't Grounds for a Lawsuit. We knew when we bought the house that it wasn't in a perfect condition. Some problems, such as a crack in the front walk, A window frame that was rotten these things were obvious. Others, such as aging plumbing, the seller might have told you about in the course of the sale. (In our country laws require home sellers to disclose all "material" defects to prospective buyers.)

 

Our home inspector, we had to hire one to get a mortgage also told us about a few foreseeable problems.

Then after the sale, our home probably continued its normal process of aging and decaying, leaving us to deal with the consequences. None of these sorts of issues provide any grounds upon which to run back to the seller to complain.

Will your insurance company cover the damage? If so, there might be no need to act on your own.

 

Could the Home Seller Be Held Legally Responsible for the Undisclosed Defects?

Even if you think you've been wronged, you can't sue everyone involved in the sale of your home. The home seller is the first one to consider, of course.

As mentioned, nearly every country in Europe has laws requiring sellers to advise buyers of certain defects in the property, typically by filling out a standard disclosure form before the sale is completed. (This responsibility remains even if you bought the house "as is.")

The form usually asks the seller to tell whether the property has certain features like appliances, a roof, a foundation, systems for electricity, water, and heating, and more and then to rate or describe their condition. Disclosure laws are more comprehensive than others, and if a feature isn't on the list, the seller might not be required to speak up. Also, the seller isn't usually required to scout out problems.

If there's clearly a place on the form where the seller should have stated a problem but denied it, your job is to try to figure out whether the seller in fact knew about it. For example, if the seller patched over or hid problem areas, or if the neighbors have told you about the seller's efforts to deal with a problem, the evidence is on your side.

Could the Seller's Real Estate Agent Be Held Legally Responsible?

Sometimes' laws make sellers' real estate agents liable for failing to disclose problems they observed or were told of by the sellers, though often their duties are limited.

Could Your Home Inspector Be Held Legally Responsible?

Hopefully, we are as the bank asked us for getting a home inspection report done before buying. In theory, the inspector should have spotted problems that the seller wasn't aware of or was turning a blind eye to. If the inspector missed problems that an expert (a professional peer) should have noticed, the inspector might be on the hook; that is, legally liable.

We read over your inspection report to see what it said about the area in question. Some buyers are embarrassed to find that the problem is spelled out right in the report or falls within an area that the inspector rightfully excluded from the report (such as a blocked off or inaccessible area). In our case the crawl space was not accessible because it was full of water and gave off a fierce dank smell. As a result, the inspector could not figure out if the utilities were in working order located in the crawl space.

But in other cases, the inspector did not meet basic standards of professional competence. This is the reason our lawyer is hiring an independent building inspector and maintenance expert. And who will hopefully be able to get a clear picture of the stated defects that are being denied by the seller.

Do You Have a Solid Case?

Once you've figured out the possible responsible parties, you'll want to know whether their action or inaction might entitle you to compensation. If your situation meets the criteria below, you might have a good case. We've collapsed a few legal principles into this list, but it will apply to most situations in most U.S. states.

• The defect was there before you bought the home. 
• It's not an obvious defect that you could have seen yourself before buying. 
• No one told you about the defect before the sale, or someone actually lied to you about it. 
• You relied on the lies or nondisclosures. 
• You've incurred monetary damage as a result. 
• You're within any appropriate deadlines.

 

Even if you think you meet the above criteria, remember that in an actual lawsuit, it will be your job to convince a judge. Hence the more evidence you can start gathering, the better. We are trying to avoid a lawsuit as there is quite a cost involved. Still if the seller continues to resist and deny like this then there is probably little choice but to take it to court. Writing the letters is difficult and this has been dragging on for several months now. Hopefully, the courts will provide clarity, and we can move forward with realizing our own little palace. We have not lost hope and hope for a good outcome.

You might still be responsible for paying court costs and other fees, plus expenses such as the attorney's phone calls and postage. Or the court might award reimbursement of attorney's fees as part of your damages.

Waiting for better times.

The Old Sailor,

 

How to make neighbor clean up his yard

Dear Bloggers,

We got our house for sale for almost three years as the market is pretty tough at the moment. So we were all excited when there were couple of potential buyers that would come and visit our house and also the house of one of our neighbors. When they saw our neighbors house they saw the mess of his neighbors who's yard is having boundaries with his property. And believe me these rental homes are bringing down our neighborhood with homes who are maximum 15 years of age. Losing money on your investment is always painful but if the home owner is just not doing anything puts me in a warrior state of mind.

When a neighbor has a messy yard, it's likely to affect you in two ways. The first is it's an eyesore and can be bothersome to look at. The second is that it can lower the value of your home as well as the neighborhood. This is particularly true if you are trying to sell a house, and a potential buyer is hesitant to live next to your messy neighbor. Many approaches can resolve this, but the ones you pick will depend largely on the relationship you have with your neighbor and your neighbor's attitude. The pictures I added our not from our neighbors as a lawsuit is still in progress and this might harm our case.

Instructions

Think the subject over, and decide approaches you can employ to get your neighbor to clean the yard. Consider if she has extenuating circumstances, such as an illness, a recently born baby or an extended period in which she was away. Remember some people are just naturally messy. Have a plan. This will help prevent you from approaching the neighbor in an overly emotional and disjointed way.

Try the carrot-over-the-stick approach first. Appeal to your neighbor's better nature, and bring up the subject of his messy yard with a smile on your face. Use a little psychology. Sometimes you can persuade people to do things without their even realizing it. Speak in a friendly and relaxed tone.

Use some commonsense arguments if the nice approach does not work. Say the mess is affecting the value of your property. This will be particularly effective if you have a for sale sign on your lawn. Bring up potential health hazards if the neighbor's yard is littered with garbage or dog poop.

Try some other approaches. Offer to help clean up the yard. Try to get other residents in the neighborhood to talk to your neighbor and join in the effort. The neighbor might be willing to listen to someone else. Offer to help pay to clean up the yard. Some cleanup services will be glad to do it for a price. Bribery might be too strong a word, but people do listen when the subject is money. If a yard is extremely messy, it's possible your neighbor is not cleaning it because it's too daunting a task. If you offer help, your neighbor might look at the job in a different way. Have your real estate agent talk to the neighbor if your house is for sale. This will really drive home the point of the value of your home.

Put your foot down by firmly telling your neighbor the situation has become intolerable. Tell your neighbor that if he does not address the mess immediately, you will go to the authorities. If that still does not work, go to your local government and make it aware of the situation. There are ordinances and zoning codes against dumping and other sanitation violations. The fact that your neighbor could be fined might finally result in some action. Contact the government again if it fails to respond to your complaint.

Be smarter than your neighbor. If the subject of the yard turns into a debate, use indisputable logic.

Don't get in a fight or threaten your neighbor with physical violence. This will only make the situation worse and almost certainly will not result in a clean yard.

How to Report the Negligence of Property Owners

Negligent property owners can drag down your home's value.
Many people have had to deal with messy neighbors and property owners. A neglected property can be an invitation for vermin, crime, and other sanitation issues. On top of it all, an unkempt property in your neighborhood or on your street can drag down the value of your home. With all the properties on the market today, why would someone want to deal with messy neighbors when they could get a house in a neighborhood without the eyesores. Luckily, there are ways to get negligent property owners to own up to their responsibilities. 

Instructions

Start with a direct approach. There isn't always a need to get authorities involved, as you may be able to handle the problem directly with the property owner. If the owner is living on the property, you can approach the owner and voice your concerns in a calm manner. If the owner does not live on the property, try your best to make contact with the person over the phone about the issue. Many times, this is all it will take to have the problem fixed.

Ensure that the person really is the property owner. If the person on the property is actually just a tenant, you have another step before going to authorities. Find out who is renting out the property and contact that person. You can do this through your county's property tax assessor's office. Once you have this information, send a letter to the landlord, including pictures of the negligence for added effect.

Complain to the lender of the property if it is in a foreclosed state. Do not settle for a customer service representative on this one. Make sure you speak with management, and go all the way up to the chief executive officer if that is what it takes. If this isn't giving you fast enough results, go to your state's governmental website and find the police officer who is in charge of your neighborhood.

Enlist help if necessary. If you are in a homeowners association, contact the group and submit a formal request for it to take action. If at this point you are unable to get satisfaction, contact your local village association. Find the number for your local public health department and call the office to explain what is going on. Make sure to take note of all sanitation and safety issues involving the property.

Contact a lawyer if you want to take this even further. A real estate attorney would be best for this. You may be able to sue the homeowners association if it didn't resolve the issue, or the owner of the property. Remember that these cases can drag on and be expensive, so this step should only be used as a last resort.

We are nearly at the last step the neighbor received a court order. Let us hope there will be soon some new response of potential buyers.

The Old Sailor,