Sellers Disclosure

What is the name of your state? Nebraska

One the seller disclosure the seller marked the fireplace/insert as working and I have now found out the that when they put an insert in it they removed the firewall and it is not safe to use. I have had a chimney sweep and a Hearth Shop both tell me that I should not use it. Would the seller be responsible for repairing the fireplace since they said it was working on the disclosure?

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by tdsiefkes
[b]What is the name of your state? Nebraska

One the seller disclosure the seller marked the fireplace/insert as working and I have now found out the that when they put an insert in it they removed the firewall and it is not safe to use. I have had a chimney sweep and a Hearth Shop both tell me that I should not use it. Would the seller be responsible for repairing the fireplace since they said it was working on the disclosure?

**A: yes, and did you have the fireplace inspected prior to closing? Did you even have a home inspection?

Yes, the home inspector said that it looked okay from what he could see.

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by tdsiefkes
[b]Yes, the home inspector said that it looked okay from what he could see.

**A: ok, if the insert was completing blocking the interior walls of the fireplace flue, then the home inspector could not visually see anything wrong.
How was it determined that the firewall was removed?

No, that is not completely true. I think the home inspector was more worried about if the flue was clean and failed to look for the fire walls. I found out that they were missing when I had the chimney sweep come to clean it before I used it for the ifrst time. He happened to also be a 20yr. veteran of the fire department and he informed me that it was not safe to use because the fire wall had been removed so the insert would fit correctly. He also informed me that the insert was not made to be used in this way, it was actually a wood stove that was altered to fit in teh opening. He showed me the city codes and that this would not meet wood stove codes for the city.

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by tdsiefkes
[b]No, that is not completely true. I think the home inspector was more worried about if the flue was clean and failed to look for the fire walls. I found out that they were missing when I had the chimney sweep come to clean it before I used it for the ifrst time. He happened to also be a 20yr. veteran of the fire department and he informed me that it was not safe to use because the fire wall had been removed so the insert would fit correctly. He also informed me that the insert was not made to be used in this way, it was actually a wood stove that was altered to fit in teh opening. He showed me the city codes and that this would not meet wood stove codes for the city.

**A: hey, that's interesting because I had the same problem in a rental property I bought. The home was an older home and the insurance company wanted a copy of the home inspection report to verify that the electrical was up to par. In the inspection report, it was noted that the woodstove had a homemade chimney connection and modified flue. In order to get insurance, I had to buy a new stove and have a contractor retrofit the chimney and connection.
In your case, I would call the inspector back.