Buying or Selling a Home/Any recourse at all???

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Expert: - 7/26/2010


Question
Russel, My husband and I purchased a home in Sept 08 and now it is July 10.  As first time homebuyers we knew little about what to look for in a home.  After looking at what seemed like hundreds of distressed and foreclosed homes, we were really excited when we saw our current home; it didn't need any work; we just moved in. The carpeting on the floor of the basement became problematic after the first big rain.  With the last big rain fall in Chicago, we didn't to remove the carpet and it was appalling what we saw.  There were cracks all through out the foundation, severely lop-sided concrete, a quarter-sized hole was in the floor and mold was setting up moving up the walls.  of course my question is what can be done to the guy we bought the house from because he was obviously not honest and what about the inspector?  I think having the outlets midway the way should have been a tell-tale sign for him that house got water in the basement.

Answer
Hey, Dawn.

Since you're in Illinois, which has some interesting real estate laws, the best thing you can do is to contact a real estate attorney. Most attorneys give you a free 30-60 minute consultation, so take advantage of that.

Basements are problematic to begin with, but I'm wondering why you didn't do anything after the first big rain. Surely there was some significant rain between September 2008 and July 2010. Mold is not a good indicator because it takes as little as 24 hours for mold to grow, and if there were already problems, the carpet should have been smelling before almost two years.

With that said, though, contact that real estate attorney and see what he has to say.

Hope that helps some.

Russel

Buying or Selling a Home

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Russel Ray

Expertise

Through home inspections, I provide an education about real estate. I'm one of those rare home inspectors who has been involved in real estate in many different capacities: as a Realtor (in Texas), as a property investor/flipper, as a teacher, and as a marketing expert (for Realtors and home inspectors). I believe that my experience as a Realtor and property investor provides me with a different viewpoint about home inspections in that I work for my Clients, but when there are other people involved in helping my Clients, then I firmly believe in helping them, too. That includes Realtors (both the seller's and the buyer's), repair professionals (e.g., plumbers, electricians, etc.). If I can get all the players (seller, seller's Realtor, buyer, buyer's Realtor, and repair professionals) playing in the same sandbox together to accomplish goals as a TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More), then I believe I have succeeded in my job as a home inspector. My profession is, in my opinion, much more than simply documenting the condition of a property and then take the money and run. I am also a rare breed in that I don't believe that one inspection fits the needs of all Clients, and I have led the industry in understanding that fact. For example, the goals of a property investor are far different than the goals of someone buying a property to live in. The goals of a seller (a pre-listing inspection) are far different than the goals of a buyer (a pre-purchase inspection). To that end, I offer 14 different types of inspections, e.g., STANDARD, LIST, RENTER, BASIC, MAINTENANCE, SPOT, and more. I believe in giving the benefit of the doubt to all professionals in whatever industry they represent until they prove me wrong.

Experience

Over 42 years in all aspects of real estate--building homes, renovating homes, inspecting homes, Realtor.

Organizations
National Association of Certified Home Inspector, Better Business Bureau of San Diego

Education/Credentials
Graduate of Texas A&M University; College Station, Texas

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