Just Purchase a home not knowing that it had extensive pre-existing mold and Structural damage
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Just Purchase a home not knowing that it had extensive pre-existing mold and Structural damage
Extensive wood destroying fungi /or possible mold has been located within the houses crawlspace, which has decayed numerous structural support beams, subfloor boards, tiles, and other structural items.
The aforementioned damage will require the replacement of beams subfloor boards, tiles, etc. This substantial damage was pre-existing at the time of the inspection was overlooked by Mr. Greg Dennis the Avalon Home Inspector. Also the owner was aware of it and never made any mention of the bathroom flange leaks that had caused.
As no mention of the pre-existing mold, fungus or subfloor structural damage appeared in the inspection report and or in any other documentation provided by the inspector. The house was purchased on 7/13/2018 under the assumption that there were no other material /or structural defects except those which were noticed within the inspection report provided by Avalon Home Inspections, Inc. on May 23, 2018.
As of now the estimate repairs exceeds 16,000.00
Please advice.
Asked on August 6, 2018 under Real Estate Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
If you believe that you can show not just that the damage pre-dated your purchase but also that the seller knew, or under the facts/circumstances, must have known of the damage, you can sue him for fraud for the repair and remediation costs: a seller has an obligation to disclose latent damage (that is, hidden or not readily discernable, damage, such as within-the-walls damage) and a failure to do so would be fraud and make them liable for the costs to correct the situation. They key is, though, the seller must have had knowledge of the condition(s): since fraud is basically lying, and you can't lie about something you don't even know, without knowledge there can be no fraud and no liability So damage underneath the floor may not be something they were aware of--you'd have to have some evidence to show they were, or that logically, they must have known.
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