Expert: Russel Ray - 3/11/2008

Question
My wife and I recently bought a home, September 1 2007 move in date.  Shortly after, the problems began.  A little history, after paying for 2 home inspections, totalling 500 dollars on two other possible homes, we decided to save the money on this one since it was a governement loan and they had to inspect the house anyways.

Story one:  Upon painting the living room, we discovered water damage in the corner, covered by a crappy drywall paint job.  Spoke to sellers, they we unaware of the water damage.  EVEN THOUGH they supposedly fixed up the room.

Story two: My wife was washing out the tub a few weeks back and the paint came off in a 3 foot section.  Now I have a two-tone white and yellow bath tub with more sections bubbling everyday.

Story three:  No heat in the back bedroom.  Answer "We never had that problem"  

Story four: Washing machine leaks everytime it is used.  Once again, they did not know about that.

And my favorite lastest piece of fun:  The kitchen sink backs up into the bathtub.  Last night I took a steak marinade shower.  Wanna know what we had for dinner, STEAK!!

Even a home inspector would not have been able to frtell these problems.  So, what is our protection??  The seller has not responded back to my latest e-mail, so I am assuming he thinks he is out of the clear.  Can I legally do anything?  Can I recoup some of the repair costs??  I investigatd how he bought it and he purchased it through an estate sale!!  If I would have known that, I would not have bought it.  He claimed on the listing he insulated the whole house and when I questioned him, it was just the attic.  So you can see what kind of person he is turning out to be.  Being first time homebuyers, and wow the education I have recieved, we are wondering what can be done.  

PLEASE HELP!!!

Answer
Hey, Bryan.

I don't know what state you're in, and disclosure laws are different for each state. The best thing to do is get a free consultation with an experienced real estate attorney. Sometimes a simple letter from them can get the negotiations started.

Let me see if I can provide some general help, though.

First, you have learned the hard way that it is never worth waiving the home inspection. Get the best, most experienced, most thorough, most nitpicky home inspector you can find and don't worry about what he will charge; it will be well worth it to you for your own peace of mind.

The fact that you believed "since it was a government loan and they had to inspect the house anyway" is unfortunate. The government does not inspect houses; they simply verify that the house exists. Sometimes they'll go inside to verify that appliances are there.

As to the water damage in the corner, it is possible that they could be unaware of it even if they fixed up the room because they might have hired someone else to fix up the room and then stated, "We fixed up the room." Miscommunication and misinterpretation creates hard feelings. Try to find out exactly what they mean.

I do believe that the water damage, bathtub problem, no heat in the back bedroom, and the kitchen sink backing up into the bathtub would have been found by the best home inspector. The washing machine, probably not, since they are personal appliances. I take it you bought the washing machine from the sellers, or does the plumbing leak when using the washing machine, or does the drainage leak when the washing machine drains. A functional drainage test very likely would have discovered the kitchen sink backing up into the bathtub, and that could indicate drainage problems in the laundry area; are they close to each other?

Since you waived the home inspection--again, without knowing what state you're in--you probably also waived any recourse. However, you can keep on trying to work with the seller, and remember to get that free consultation from a real estate attorney.

The fact that you didn't know how the previous owner bought the property is a lack of due diligence on your part. However, as first-time home buyers, information that I hoped you conveyed to your Realtor--that Realtor should have helped guide you through the transaction. I always pull the public records and old MLS listings on properties that I inspect so that I can help my Clients understand that an estate sale is not subject to disclosures like a normal transaction is.

When you say, "He claimed on the listing he insulated the whole house and when I questioned him, it was just the attic." that's another example of how different words mean different things to different people. I get that response quite often from sellers: "I had the whole house insulated" which means they put new insulation in the attic since the attic covers the "whole house."

I hate to sound like I'm defending the sellers, but having been in real estate for 43 years as a Realtor, property investor, home inspector, electrician, plumber, roofer, and a couple of others, I've probably seen and heard everything, so nothing surprises me anymore.

So I'll go back to what I said at the very beginning. As soon as possible, get that free consultation with a real estate attorney. Save all emails, document phone correspondence, etc. That attorney will be able to help you far more than I can over the Internet.

I always hate to see situations like this, so good luck in working things out.

Feel free to continue to follow up with me and I'll try to provide whatever guidance I can.