Disclosure on Rot during repair

[AE - 2nd home in NH]

I purchased a home in NH roughly 10 - 11 months ago. Over the past winter we noticed the back door was leaking. So we contracted someone to replace the door. Once the door was removed, the framing around the door was rotted and subsequent searches found a 15x24 section completely rotted behind the siding.

When we purchased the home, we had our own realtor and a home inspection. The home inspection found some rot at the band joist but never discovered any other rot. The part of the house has a double tiered deck and the door is on the lower portion with a double slider at the top. the contractor after a brief review of the site was able to determine that the leak started at the slider level. The contractor also stated that the plywood under the siding was "new" plywood and was placed over the rot.

I read the ongoing posts by Labarge71 and Homeguru and it gives me a little hope.

We first tried to collect on our insurance policy and appear to be unsuccessful. Would our next move be to go after the previous owners or inspector?

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by AE - 2nd home in NH:
I purchased a home in NH roughly 10 - 11 months ago. Over the past winter we noticed the back door was leaking. So we contracted someone to replace the door. Once the door was removed, the framing around the door was rotted and subsequent searches found a 15x24 section completely rotted behind the siding.

When we purchased the home, we had our own realtor and a home inspection. The home inspection found some rot at the band joist but never discovered any other rot. The part of the house has a double tiered deck and the door is on the lower portion with a double slider at the top. the contractor after a brief review of the site was able to determine that the leak started at the slider level. The contractor also stated that the plywood under the siding was "new" plywood and was placed over the rot.

I read the ongoing posts by Labarge71 and Homeguru and it gives me a little hope.

We first tried to collect on our insurance policy and appear to be unsuccessful. Would our next move be to go after the previous owners or inspector?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

A nondisclosure claim against the Sellers may work but keep in mind that in order to prevail, you would need to prove that the Sellers were aware of the problem. Were they in fact aware and did they have the repair completed or was the repair done by the previous owners. Did the Seller fill out a property condition disclosure statement?

A claim against the home inspector may not result in any damages if the inspector conducted his inspection properly. Inspectors are not required to remove the door, pull away pieces of wood or have x-ray vision. So if the rot was behind the door jamb and the siding and the inspector did not see it, the inspector is not liable.

What is/was the total cost to correct the problem? It sounds like a small job. If the cost is less than $5000, you would be better off just paying for it.

 

[AE - 2nd home in NH]

The seller, had done major repairs to the house prior to our purchasing it. They repaired the roof, took out all the electric heat, replaced all the flooring, painted the walls, I am unaware if they actually replaced any of the walls. As for a property condition disclosure, I would have to double check all my records. I do not remember seeing it.

The cost of the job came to just over $5000. so I guess that I should just bite the bullet and know that I now have an improved structure that will be better constructed.

Thanks for replying HOMEGURU. you really gave me some insight!

 

[Tracey]

If you want to try to get some money without spending a lot, sue O in small claims court for "$5,300 or the jurisdictional limit". Even if you prove $5,300 in damages, you'll only get $3,000 (or whatever is the max amount small claims can award).

If the new plywood appears to have been done at the same time as all the other repairs, you have a good case -- O knew of a defect, knew that you wouldn't be able to find it, and attempted to cover up the defect by doing a sub-standard repair. This is fraudulent misrepresentation/failure to disclose.

------------------
This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws.