I think that’s a dangerous attitude to have for a large transaction like that. If the work is big enough that I wouldn’t be willing to float the expense later, I’d definitely get someone to check it, unless my agent and lawyer were certain that we could go after them if it wasn’t done. So if I agreed that they’d replace a faucet, I wouldn’t pay the inspector to come back, and probably wouldn’t even think to double-check the faucet, because I’m only down like $50-$150 in the worst case and I’m sick of dealing with stuff by the time we’re at closing. But for something that costs thousands or more, I would definitely have someone look to be sure that work was done.
It’s just too easy to get taken advantage of, and the consequences can be severe.
Timing is everything in the law. 2 years after the contract should have been completed may be to late to complain that you are dissatisfied with the way a contract was completed. You can contact the seller and request the work be completed. But don’t be surprised if they refuse at this late date to complete it. Next call will be to a lawyer to see if he can help.
It’s not necessarily even the two years that affects a possible claim. The documents signed at closing may have included some affirmation that all outstanding inspection issues have been resolved. Overcoming that might require a showing of deceit, and then the question may become whether the remaining defect would have been noticeable at the time of closing.
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Disclaimer: I am not your lawyer, we have no relationship, and you should not rely to your detriment on what I say. This is just anonymous chat.
Of all the things that might be a problem for the OP, the passage of time is among the least of them.
The real problem has already been identified: in most jurisdictions, the sale contract terms are extinguished by the closing documents (or the closing document may so provide). In the OP’s jurisdiction, that may or not be true.
This. A real estate attorney in your jurisdiction will generally discuss your case for free, and your representation would likely be under a contingency arrangement anyway.
Did you not have a final walk through? I’m trying to figure out how anyone buying a house would not check to see that structural work was done before closing. If the floor was uneven, all you’d need to do is place a level on the floor, or drop a marble.
You’ll have to check with a lawyer to see what the stature of lims is. And it would likely run from whenever you discovered it. Did you just discover it now? Or immediately after you closed? Is this a property you occupy?
As noted above, you probably gave up any claims at closing. But there might be an exception for fraud, or “hidden” issues.
The purchase of a home is the largest single transaction the average person will ever participate in. Unless you provide additional facts, it seems like you were less careful than I would expect of most people.
If this hasn’t caused a problem for 2 years, I’d suggest you either continue to live with it, or pay to have it fixed, chalking it up to experience.
yes I did a walk through. But the repair was going to be hidden under the floor. I just discovered the issue recently. I do live here.
The easiest fix is to put a tankless water heater in. That will take the extra weight off the floor that causes the problem.
I was worried that this could cause the floor to collapse but the engineer said that was not going to happen.
How likely is it the contractor lied about the repair vs. the seller? Because one of them lied.
Did you have a buyer’s agent? Did you talk to them? What about the seller’s agent (if you did not have an agent)?
How do you “just discover” an uneven floor? Or fail to notice that there was no sign of this significant construction having been done?
Installing a tankless heater (~$1200?) or shoring up the floor would likely cost WAY less, and have a more certain result than suing whoever you think you could sue.
MAYBE someone else did something they oughtn’t have, but you DEFINITELY failed to look out for your own interests. Like I said, chalk it up to experience and get on with your life.
home inspector also told me it was OK. So it sounds like he screwed up as well. He was the guy who noticed the problem to begin with.
If the seller/contractor signed off on the work when no work was done, there is no maybe about someone lying.
Sure there is. They may have been hired to repair several things and forgotten one. They may have believed that job was assigned to a subcontractor. The seller may have been confused about who they paid to do what.
Fraud is really hard to prove. I still think you should talk to a real estate attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.
You’re like a [del]man[/del] vegetable of [del]stone[/del] plastic.
When we sold our home, we had to provide proof to the buyer’s agent that the repairs the buyers demanded to be fixed were completed, and we only had 3 days to do them. This included the paid invoice from a licensed electrician who installed a new electrical panel, a paid receipt for chimney sweeping, a statement from the environmental inspector certifying that our home passed the Radon inspection, and a signed statement that we did repairs on our own (e.g. nailing down a loose board on our deck).
IF your sellers provided such receipts, and they didn’t actually have the work done, then you MIGHT have a cause of action against them. Otherwise, you should have caught this in the walk-through PRIOR to closing.
If I wanted to buy a home with significant repairable issues, my preference would be to obtain bids, have the seller grant a credit of that amount, and fix it myself.
Or I could simply trust the seller to make the repairs to my satisfaction. What could go wrong with that?
I wanted to fix it myself and get a credit from them. I was going to do the tankless option.
They would not agree to that. Maybe now I know why?