F
fooledbuyer
Guest
What is the name of your state? CA
quick facts:
1. purchased condo unit last feb 2004 as first time homebuyers
2. buyer RE agent (seller had their own agent) verbally dissuaded us from having a home inspection bec. she said the condo unit looks well maintained and it will just be an extra cost - no home inspection was done before closing
3. within one month of moving in, there was a hot water leak in kitchen wall (considered as common area). seller knew about this leak because there was an existing patch on the same area on kitchen wall when we moved in and hoa maintenance guy told us that previous owner complained about the leak before. BUT previous owner (i.e. seller) did NOT disclose the said leak to us. we verbally asked them twice if they had experienced any leak -- first was when we looked at the unit bf escrow and then the second was when we had the hot water leak. seller said "no" on both occasions and seller disclosure does not state the leak. we advanced plumbing repairs and hoa reimbursed us for costs related to the kitchen hot water leak.
4. because of heavy rains last oct 17-19, 2004, the living room and bedroom carpet were soaked with rainwater. we initially thought it's bec. of a clogged patio drainage. it became apparent though that it was not the cause of the immense water leak because several days after the rain, water was continuously leaking from the walls of both living room and bedroom thus damaging the carpets and walls. advised hoa about this, all they did as of november 10, 2004 (almost a month after) was to put concrete sealant on patio door, spray liquid sealant over canal outside bedroom window (this is a common area), patch roof and had a regular plumber look at the unit. hoa maintenance guy suspected leak was coming from the roof since the unit just below the roof had a leaking ceiling when it rained, onsite manager agreed. we asked for specialists to look and identify the problems but all we got was a regular plumber. we haven't yet heard from the onsite manager what the plumber's findings were. as of today, we have sent 3-4 complaint/follow up letters plus pictures to the onsite manager requesting for prompt action because we have been having terrible living conditions due to soaked carpet&wood, rusty/cracking walls & nails, chipping paint, developing molds. we informed onsite mgr i have asthma and my husband has hypertension.
we think that seller knew about the leaking wall but intentionally withheld information. there was paint chipping off from the same part of the living room and bedroom when we moved in which could only be caused by being soaked in water. we just re-painted to cover the water stains and replace chipped paint. we never thought it was caused by something this serious.
5. there was water dripping from the ceiling of the living room and kitchen on november 5, 2004. we found out it was caused by the unit 2 floors directly above us. we saw personally that their kitchen sink was overflowing with water thus causing water to drip on the ceilings of the units directly below them --- our unit included. they said it occurred since november 3 or 4 and they've brought it up with the onsite manager but the manager did nothing at the time to solve the clogged kitchen sink. the people living in the leaking unit did nothing either to solve the leak which caused the water to drip all the way down and affect us. we are not aware if the people living in the leaking unit are the tenants or the homeowners. our ceiling now has water stains from the kitchen to the living room and we don't know the extent of the damage.
6. there are water stains on the ceiling boards covering the central ac/heater unit. onsite manager was informed of it. she agreed it was common area and committed to replacing them. nothing was done yet as of 11/10/2004. we don't know the extent of the damage to the central ac/heater unit caused by a leak above us or from the defective building riser. no specialist was hired yet for this purpose.
7. water keeps coming out from the kitchen sink thereby clogging it. caused by the fact that units directly above and below each other share the same stack. our unit is the bottom unit that's why we are the dumping ground.
what should we do???
what type of professional services should we secure at this time to make sure existing problems are fixed promptly & properly, and potential problems are avoided.
there is the risk of potential losses if it's our turn to sell the condo because we are bound to disclose all known defects which were not disclosed to us by our seller.
what's our recourse?
pls. advise. thanks.
quick facts:
1. purchased condo unit last feb 2004 as first time homebuyers
2. buyer RE agent (seller had their own agent) verbally dissuaded us from having a home inspection bec. she said the condo unit looks well maintained and it will just be an extra cost - no home inspection was done before closing
3. within one month of moving in, there was a hot water leak in kitchen wall (considered as common area). seller knew about this leak because there was an existing patch on the same area on kitchen wall when we moved in and hoa maintenance guy told us that previous owner complained about the leak before. BUT previous owner (i.e. seller) did NOT disclose the said leak to us. we verbally asked them twice if they had experienced any leak -- first was when we looked at the unit bf escrow and then the second was when we had the hot water leak. seller said "no" on both occasions and seller disclosure does not state the leak. we advanced plumbing repairs and hoa reimbursed us for costs related to the kitchen hot water leak.
4. because of heavy rains last oct 17-19, 2004, the living room and bedroom carpet were soaked with rainwater. we initially thought it's bec. of a clogged patio drainage. it became apparent though that it was not the cause of the immense water leak because several days after the rain, water was continuously leaking from the walls of both living room and bedroom thus damaging the carpets and walls. advised hoa about this, all they did as of november 10, 2004 (almost a month after) was to put concrete sealant on patio door, spray liquid sealant over canal outside bedroom window (this is a common area), patch roof and had a regular plumber look at the unit. hoa maintenance guy suspected leak was coming from the roof since the unit just below the roof had a leaking ceiling when it rained, onsite manager agreed. we asked for specialists to look and identify the problems but all we got was a regular plumber. we haven't yet heard from the onsite manager what the plumber's findings were. as of today, we have sent 3-4 complaint/follow up letters plus pictures to the onsite manager requesting for prompt action because we have been having terrible living conditions due to soaked carpet&wood, rusty/cracking walls & nails, chipping paint, developing molds. we informed onsite mgr i have asthma and my husband has hypertension.
we think that seller knew about the leaking wall but intentionally withheld information. there was paint chipping off from the same part of the living room and bedroom when we moved in which could only be caused by being soaked in water. we just re-painted to cover the water stains and replace chipped paint. we never thought it was caused by something this serious.
5. there was water dripping from the ceiling of the living room and kitchen on november 5, 2004. we found out it was caused by the unit 2 floors directly above us. we saw personally that their kitchen sink was overflowing with water thus causing water to drip on the ceilings of the units directly below them --- our unit included. they said it occurred since november 3 or 4 and they've brought it up with the onsite manager but the manager did nothing at the time to solve the clogged kitchen sink. the people living in the leaking unit did nothing either to solve the leak which caused the water to drip all the way down and affect us. we are not aware if the people living in the leaking unit are the tenants or the homeowners. our ceiling now has water stains from the kitchen to the living room and we don't know the extent of the damage.
6. there are water stains on the ceiling boards covering the central ac/heater unit. onsite manager was informed of it. she agreed it was common area and committed to replacing them. nothing was done yet as of 11/10/2004. we don't know the extent of the damage to the central ac/heater unit caused by a leak above us or from the defective building riser. no specialist was hired yet for this purpose.
7. water keeps coming out from the kitchen sink thereby clogging it. caused by the fact that units directly above and below each other share the same stack. our unit is the bottom unit that's why we are the dumping ground.
what should we do???
what type of professional services should we secure at this time to make sure existing problems are fixed promptly & properly, and potential problems are avoided.
there is the risk of potential losses if it's our turn to sell the condo because we are bound to disclose all known defects which were not disclosed to us by our seller.
what's our recourse?pls. advise. thanks.