house is falling apart

[KIMBERLY]

MY HUSBAND AND I BOUGHT A HOME 3 YEARS AGO AND NOW WE FIND OUT THAT WE HAVE SERIOUS FOUNDATION PROBLEMS. THE BANK THAT HOLDS OUR MORTGAGE HAD AN APPRAISAL COMPANY COME OUT TO ASSESS THE HOUSE BEFORE PURCHASING AND THE APPRAISAL COMPANY DID NOT NOTE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE FOUNDATION. THE INSURANCE ADJUSTER THAT CAME TO SEE OUR HOME STATES THAT THESE PROBLEMS HAVE PROBABLY BEEN GOING ON FOR AT LEAST 7 YEARS AND REPAIRS WILL COST ANYWHERE BETWEEN $6,000 TO $7,000. HE ALSO STATES THAT THESE PROBLEMS SHOULD HAVE BEEN VERY OBVIOUS TO THE APPRAISER. DO WE HAVE ANY COURSE OF ACTION AGAINST THE APPRAISAL COMPANY FOR NOT INFORMING US OF THESE OBVIOUS PROBLEMS WITH OUR HOME?

 

[ALawyer]

If you hired or paid the appraisal company you might have a case. Unfortunately if the bank hired an apprasial company work for it, you would be out of luck in most states as you have no right to rely on the third parties' assessment -- all they care about is that is the property worth the amount they are lending you. So if you were borrowing $50,000 on a falling down shack worth zero but situated on a $100,000 piece of land the bank could be canifent that it's loan was adequately secured by the proerty.

You should have had an inspector check it out for you. But ask a real estate lawyer in your state as there may be liability on the part of the contractor years later in some states.

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This is intended as general information only and NOT LEGAL ADVICE. You are not my client, and I have no obligation of any kind to you. To retain a lawyer, go to http://AttorneyPages.com

 

[water]

You could have some rights against the seller if the seller had knowledge of the condition and was required to disclose it.