$10k in repairs for a young home?

[NJhomeownr]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? - New Jersey

Within the past year, we purchased a unit in a townhouse community in NJ. Within months of moving in, we noticed water spots on the ceiling of our family room..(our master bath is right above it). After hiring a few contractors/plumbers, it seems like the culprit is a faulty shower base - with water leaking underneath it. It is a young home, and all the people who have seen it say that a young home should not have such issues, unless it's faulty to begin with..

They say that if we pull out the floor tile and find rotten baseboards, the damage was done by the previous homeowner. Would it be realistic to seek out repair costs from the previous homeowner, since they did not disclose this issue? And what if our homeowner's insurance policy doesn't cover the damage if they deem that it did not occur due to our use? Is that enough evidence to seek out damages from the previous homeowners?

any and all help is GREATLY appreciated!!
($10k is one hefty amount of $$)

thank you!

[FlyingRon]

I don't know what you are saying. I suspect by "baseboards" you mean "subfloor." Baseboards are the things above the floor on the wall.

The previous owner has no responsibility for a defective shower base unless he knew it was leaking and failed to disclose it. It makes no difference whether the damage occured before you owned the home or not. Houses are sold as is.

[NJhomeownr]

sorry about the mixup - yes, i meant subfloors.
i'm pretty sure that they knew...since their family room ceiling would have been leaking with water each time they used the master shower. but how would we be able to prove that? do you think it's worth meeting up with a real estate attorney?

[LindaP777]

Originally Posted by NJhomeownr

i'm pretty sure that they knew...since their family room ceiling would have been leaking with water each time they used the master shower.

And how do you know they knew? This could be a new problem.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by NJhomeownr

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? - New Jersey

Within the past year, we purchased a unit in a townhouse community in NJ. Within months of moving in, we noticed water spots on the ceiling of our family room..(our master bath is right above it). After hiring a few contractors/plumbers, it seems like the culprit is a faulty shower base - with water leaking underneath it. It is a young home, and all the people who have seen it say that a young home should not have such issues, unless it's faulty to begin with..

They say that if we pull out the floor tile and find rotten baseboards, the damage was done by the previous homeowner. Would it be realistic to seek out repair costs from the previous homeowner, since they did not disclose this issue? And what if our homeowner's insurance policy doesn't cover the damage if they deem that it did not occur due to our use? Is that enough evidence to seek out damages from the previous homeowners?

any and all help is GREATLY appreciated!!
($10k is one hefty amount of $$)

thank you!

**A: how are you going to prove that the Seller's knew of the problem?

[NJhomeownr]

I know the previous homeowner knew of the problem b/c:

a) the tiles right by the shower were noticeably taken apart re-grouted several times(these specific tiles are about 1.5 inches higher than the rest of the floor) We didn't notice this during inspections due to the bath rug they had.

b) the ceiling of the living room (which is right underneath) should have had large water marks..but we're assuming they're repainted to hide such marks...
How can we be sure? - b/c the subfloors are completely warped and rotted - which means the water damage has continued for quite a long time.

Is this not enough evidence to prove they were aware of the situation? Or are we just left to repair this on our own?

[FlyingRon]

Originally Posted by NJhomeownr

a) the tiles right by the shower were noticeably taken apart re-grouted several times(these specific tiles are about 1.5 inches higher than the rest of the floor) We didn't notice this during inspections due to the bath rug they had.

Regrouting won't move the tiles. You mean the tiles were reset (removed and replaced). The stuff under the tiles is mortar/adhesive. Grout is the stuff in the gaps between the tiles. They are separate forumlations and do different things.

b) the ceiling of the living room (which is right underneath) should have had large water marks..but we're assuming they're repainted to hide such marks...

You will have a hard time arguing "should" if you don't have any evidence.

How can we be sure? - b/c the subfloors are completely warped and rotted - which means the water damage has continued for quite a long time.

The floors can be wet without actually leaking noticeably below.


You can try to recover, but I think your evidence doesn't make it a guarantee.

[Roo]

You said it took you a few months to even notice the leak.
What kind of ceiling is in the family room?

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by Roo

You said it took you a few months to even notice the leak.
What kind of ceiling is in the family room?

**A: a leaky one.