Is there anything that I can do.
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Is there anything that I can do.
I recently bought my first home on May
25th 2016. We got an inspection and the
inspector found no issues. The house
was listed as having been ‘recently
renovated’ and having ‘brand new
electrical’. The day we moved in we
realized that the stove didn’t work,
only the clock did. A month later after
some nice Florida rain we noticed some
spots in the ceiling in the living room
and bathroom. Also the compressor unit
of the a/c system sometimes won’t come
on. About three weeks ago the new water
heater that seller installed stopped
working. So I checked it out and found
out it was just the breaker. So I
opened the panel to change the breaker
and to my shock I found out that my
house has aluminum wiring. This was
something that I specifically asked the
inspector, because insurance asked me
too. So i checked the inspection report
and the inspector stated that he
checked the branch circuits and stated
they were copper. I went up into the
attic and found several fist sized
holes in roof. Also all the wiring is
easily identifiable as Aluminum wiring.
The house has new led light fixtures
outside. I can see how the seller
incorrectly wired the new fixtures with
copper to the Aluminum wiring.
Asked on October 5, 2016 under Real Estate Law, Florida
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
You can sue the home inspector for negligence. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable home inspector would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).
Your damages (monetary compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) for negligence would be repairs/costs caused by the home inspector's negligence.
You can also sue the seller for fraud. Fraud is the intentional misrepresentation of a material fact made with knowledge of its falsity and with the intent to induce your reliance upon which you justifiably relied to your detriment.
In other words, you would not have bought the house had you known of the aluminum wiring.
Your damages in a lawsuit for fraud against the seller would be either the benefit of the bargain or your out of pocket loss.
Benefit of the bargain means a defrauded purchaser may recover the difference between the real and represented value of the property purchased regardless of the fact that the actual loss suffered might have been less.
Out of pocket determination of damages for fraudulent misrepresentation permits recovery of the difference between the price paid and actual value of the property acquired.
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