Expert: Jessica Bryan - 7/18/2009

Question
As a 1st time home buyer, we had our house inspected. the plumbing was rated fair. 3 days after closing 2 pipes get pin hole leaks, we get them fixed. 10 days another leak between meter and house. Plumber said he had been their before to fix another leak. Any recourse to previous owner

Answer
Sorry Brian;
The reason you get a home inspected is to get expert advice on the condition of the home.  Certainly the inspector has no way of knowing what may break, leak or malfunction but can give an educated guess by looking at the age or condition of a home and its components.  The previous owners are not responsible for anything that causes a problem after the sale unless they had prior knowledge that there was a problem that they were hiding. Just because they had a leak repaired doesn't mean they knew that there would be others unless the plumber pointed this out to them and they decided not to disclose it. (That, of course, would be fraudulent and, if proven, there could be legal recourse.)

I'd like to use an example that might help explain: Let's say that you are driving an older car and even though you have kept up with the maintenance, you know that it is only a matter of time before you will have to spend lots of money in repairs due to the amount of years and mileage on the car.  You have already had small problems indicating bigger ones are looming in the near future.  You decide that before this happens you should sell the car.  You find buyers who take the car to their mechanic for an evaluation before they buy the car. The mechanic says that the car checks out and that while it is older it is in running order for now.  Two weeks after they buy the car the fuel pump needs to be replaced and later they begin having transmission problems.  Is it your responsibility?  NO!

I am sorry that you are having problems with your home and hope that they are easily and inexpensively resolved.

Best wishes,
Jessica Bryan