C
chisum
Guest
We bought our 2 story home 3 years ago. The previous owner had origionally built it as a stilt home and later enclosed the downstairs. The house was only 3 years old when we bought it and appeared to be in excellent immaculate condition. Our mortgage company did not require an inspection and when I expressed my concerns to the realtor he said it really wasn't necessary because of the quality and young age of the house and the habit of the owner of keeping everything in tip-top shape. I agreed. (I know, I know).
Almost immediately upon the first heavy rain a small amount of water began coming in along the front outside wall. I just kept cleaning it for the past 3 years with my carpet cleaner and using fans to dry everything. Our septic tank is located 6 feet outside the area that leaks and that wall is 1/2 covered with dirt...almost like a basement. We figured the problem was a leak in the concrete wall, so we dug out the outside dirt and resealed the concrete with tar. The water began coming in again when I tried watering the new sod we had to put down. A couple of weeks ago after a big rain storm we had water come in again but I noticed for the first time cracks running along the concrete floor toward the center of the home. A small amt. of water was coming up through them and I found wet cracks on the other side of the home as well. I had a builder come look and he said the downstairs had water coming in caused by hydrostatic pressure from the septic tank being at such a high level and so close to the house. When the drain field was saturated it forced the rain water under the ground slab and up through the cracks. He said it appeared the downstairs was built illegally and was at too low of an elevation. I had an insurance adjuster come and he immediately denied the claim when he saw the cracks and said we had ground water. He also said it was fairly certain the downstairs was illegal and not built to code because of the septic tank situation and the low elevation of the slab, lack of grading away from the house, apparent lack of a moisture barrier in the slab, etc... The contractor said a retaining wall between the house and septic tank might help as well as a "french drain" to help take some of the water away(about $5000.) He said we may still get water in and said we cannot sell it like this. They say the downstairs is uninhabitable because of the moldy smell and water problem. Can we legally sell the home after doing these repairs (assuming they work) if it is not up to code as far as the elevation and location of the septic system? If we have an inspection to see if it is up to code they may fine us or make demands that we are financially unable to meet. Or, we may have knowledge we have to disclose to the buyer. I called the county and only the upstairs was permitted, according to their records,which they admit may not be accurate. They had the correct square footage, but not the correct # of bedrms and baths.
By-the-way, my husband remembers asking at the time of the sale if the downstairs was permitted and up to code as it had been built later and the realtor said yes. I asked the realtor again last week if it was permitted and who the builder was and he said yes, of course it was permitted. He said he would try and find out the builder but just yesterday he said to my husband that he never made these statements. The origional owner can't be found. My question is...what now? If we can't ever sell it, or have to take a loss because of disclosures, do we have legal recourse?? Against whom?? Thanks so much for your time.KC
Almost immediately upon the first heavy rain a small amount of water began coming in along the front outside wall. I just kept cleaning it for the past 3 years with my carpet cleaner and using fans to dry everything. Our septic tank is located 6 feet outside the area that leaks and that wall is 1/2 covered with dirt...almost like a basement. We figured the problem was a leak in the concrete wall, so we dug out the outside dirt and resealed the concrete with tar. The water began coming in again when I tried watering the new sod we had to put down. A couple of weeks ago after a big rain storm we had water come in again but I noticed for the first time cracks running along the concrete floor toward the center of the home. A small amt. of water was coming up through them and I found wet cracks on the other side of the home as well. I had a builder come look and he said the downstairs had water coming in caused by hydrostatic pressure from the septic tank being at such a high level and so close to the house. When the drain field was saturated it forced the rain water under the ground slab and up through the cracks. He said it appeared the downstairs was built illegally and was at too low of an elevation. I had an insurance adjuster come and he immediately denied the claim when he saw the cracks and said we had ground water. He also said it was fairly certain the downstairs was illegal and not built to code because of the septic tank situation and the low elevation of the slab, lack of grading away from the house, apparent lack of a moisture barrier in the slab, etc... The contractor said a retaining wall between the house and septic tank might help as well as a "french drain" to help take some of the water away(about $5000.) He said we may still get water in and said we cannot sell it like this. They say the downstairs is uninhabitable because of the moldy smell and water problem. Can we legally sell the home after doing these repairs (assuming they work) if it is not up to code as far as the elevation and location of the septic system? If we have an inspection to see if it is up to code they may fine us or make demands that we are financially unable to meet. Or, we may have knowledge we have to disclose to the buyer. I called the county and only the upstairs was permitted, according to their records,which they admit may not be accurate. They had the correct square footage, but not the correct # of bedrms and baths.
By-the-way, my husband remembers asking at the time of the sale if the downstairs was permitted and up to code as it had been built later and the realtor said yes. I asked the realtor again last week if it was permitted and who the builder was and he said yes, of course it was permitted. He said he would try and find out the builder but just yesterday he said to my husband that he never made these statements. The origional owner can't be found. My question is...what now? If we can't ever sell it, or have to take a loss because of disclosures, do we have legal recourse?? Against whom?? Thanks so much for your time.KC