Posted by Jodi.Familo on September 13, 2006, 11:17 am
We bought a house in April 2006. Prior to closing we had the home
inspected. The home was inspected March 11th. At that time, the
inspector told us that the roof was in excellent house and probably had
many years left (the house is only 5 years old). Between our
inspection and the time of closing there were hail storms in the area.
(We think they occurred the day AFTER our inspection, March 12th). We
lived in another state and knew nothing about the storms.
Now fast forward several months later. We are enjoying our new home
immensely. We have noticed all of our neighbors getting new roofs.
When we ask why they tell us that there were major hail storms that
caused some damage to their roofs. In a sense of caution we get our
roof inspected and are told that we have hail damage and need a whole
new roof which will cost over $5000. I've talked briefly with our
insurance company about the situation. They say that they probably
won't pay for the damage because we didn't own the home/have insurance
with them at the time of the damage.
Can we go back to the sellers and get their insurance to pay for a new
roof? Is this something that the sellers should have disclosed prior
to closing? Who is responsible for damage that occurs between
inspection and closing?
Thanks.
Posted by user on September 13, 2006, 11:31 am
wrote:
> We bought a house in April 2006. Prior to closing we had the home
> inspected. The home was inspected March 11th. At that time, the
> inspector told us that the roof was in excellent house and probably had
> many years left (the house is only 5 years old). Between our
> inspection and the time of closing there were hail storms in the area.
> (We think they occurred the day AFTER our inspection, March 12th). We
> lived in another state and knew nothing about the storms.
> Now fast forward several months later. We are enjoying our new home
> immensely. We have noticed all of our neighbors getting new roofs.
> When we ask why they tell us that there were major hail storms that
> caused some damage to their roofs. In a sense of caution we get our
> roof inspected and are told that we have hail damage and need a whole
> new roof which will cost over $5000. I've talked briefly with our
> insurance company about the situation. They say that they probably
> won't pay for the damage because we didn't own the home/have insurance
> with them at the time of the damage.
> Can we go back to the sellers and get their insurance to pay for a new
> roof? Is this something that the sellers should have disclosed prior
> to closing? Who is responsible for damage that occurs between
> inspection and closing?
How many inspections did you get?
After any hailstorm, roofing contractors descend on neighborhoods
like flies, attracted by the prospect of easy money, since most people
will have insurance that will cover a roof replacement. So, of course,
your "roof will need to be replaced."
Try getting some other evaluations, state your lack of insurance coverage
situation right up front, and then see what they say. Of course, you'll
still probably be told that the roof needs to be replaced, but it
would be interesting to see a comparison.
- Rich
--
Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane
mittam.
Posted by Natalie Munro on September 13, 2006, 1:03 pm
The sellers should cover the damage. If their insurance won't pay, that
is not your problem. You bought the home in good faith in a certain
condition. You can expect 'reasonable' wear and tear between the time of
purchase and the point of closing, but the sellers are responsible for any
major changes in condition.
If the condition is such that a professionally inspected roof went from
peachy keen to burnt toast, then I can't imagine any judge in any small
claims court not awarding you the cost of a new roof. Judge Judy comes to
mind ...
We get hail here in Ontario, too, along with vast extremes in temperature
and I have never, ever heard of a perfectly good roof being damaged by
hail. Wind can occasionally cause some damage, but the hail would have to
be the size of 'seen on CNN' to do that kind of damage.
I hope that you initially had your roof inspected by a professional home
inspector, and I hope that's who you had do the post-hail inspection. Two
inspections from the same person would have more impact if you have to sue.
user (Rich@iwantnospam.com) writes:
wrote:
>> We bought a house in April 2006. Prior to closing we had the home
>> inspected. The home was inspected March 11th. At that time, the
>> inspector told us that the roof was in excellent house and probably had
>> many years left (the house is only 5 years old). Between our
>> inspection and the time of closing there were hail storms in the area.
>> (We think they occurred the day AFTER our inspection, March 12th). We
>> lived in another state and knew nothing about the storms.
>>
>> Now fast forward several months later. We are enjoying our new home
>> immensely. We have noticed all of our neighbors getting new roofs.
>> When we ask why they tell us that there were major hail storms that
>> caused some damage to their roofs. In a sense of caution we get our
>> roof inspected and are told that we have hail damage and need a whole
>> new roof which will cost over $5000. I've talked briefly with our
>> insurance company about the situation. They say that they probably
>> won't pay for the damage because we didn't own the home/have insurance
>> with them at the time of the damage.
>>
>> Can we go back to the sellers and get their insurance to pay for a new
>> roof? Is this something that the sellers should have disclosed prior
>> to closing? Who is responsible for damage that occurs between
>> inspection and closing?
>>
>
> How many inspections did you get?
>
> After any hailstorm, roofing contractors descend on neighborhoods
> like flies, attracted by the prospect of easy money, since most people
> will have insurance that will cover a roof replacement. So, of course,
> your "roof will need to be replaced."
>
> Try getting some other evaluations, state your lack of insurance coverage
> situation right up front, and then see what they say. Of course, you'll
> still probably be told that the roof needs to be replaced, but it
> would be interesting to see a comparison.
>
> - Rich
>
> --
> Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane
mittam.
>
Posted by Jonathan Kamens on September 13, 2006, 2:00 pm
aa966@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Natalie Munro) writes:
>The sellers should cover the damage. If their insurance won't pay, that
>is not your problem. You bought the home in good faith in a certain
>condition. You can expect 'reasonable' wear and tear between the time of
>purchase and the point of closing, but the sellers are responsible for any
>major changes in condition.
>If the condition is such that a professionally inspected roof went from
>peachy keen to burnt toast, then I can't imagine any judge in any small
>claims court not awarding you the cost of a new roof. Judge Judy comes to
>mind ...
While you might be right that the seller "should" have disclosed that
the roof might have been damaged by the hail or "should" have filed a
claim with their insurance carrier before the completion of the sale,
it is rather more questionable that they had any legal obligation to
do either of those things or that they are obligated to cover the cost
of any necessary roof repairs now.
Some states require the seller to disclose any information about the
house which might influence the buyer's willingness to complete a
purchase. Other states require only that the seller disclose
information explicitly requested by the buyer. Since the OP did not
say what state the house is in, we have no way of knowing what law
would be applicable where he is.
"Any judge in any small claims court" is bound to follow the law, not
to follow what he thinks people "should" do. If the law in the OP's
state does not require the seller to disclose information not requested
by the buyer, and if the OP did not explicitly ask the seller before
completing the purchase, "By the way, to your knowledge, has the
condition of the house changed in any significant way since we
inspected it?" then the seller was under no obligation to disclose
anything, and for a judge to rule in the buyer's favor would be
contrary to the law.
My advice to the OP would be to find a good lawyer (ask coworkers and
neighbors for reference) with whom to discuss the situation. Most
lawyers will give you an initial consultation for free, so you can
outline the facts and they can tell you whether it's worth paying them
to pursue the matter. Lay out the situation to a lawyer, and he/she
will be able to tell you whether you can pursue action against the
sellers or their insurance company.
--
Help stop the genocide in Darfur!
http://www.genocideintervention.net/
Posted by bigjim on September 13, 2006, 7:30 pm
Can you prove the sellers knew of severe roof damage? If not youve got
nothing. Sellers can say "yes it hailed but we didnt notice any
damage" If you can track down insurance claim or estimates or
inspection report you might prove they failed to disclose a serious
issue. Otherwise youre out of steam there.
Jonathan Kamens wrote:
> aa966@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Natalie Munro) writes:
> >The sellers should cover the damage. If their insurance won't pay, that
> >is not your problem. You bought the home in good faith in a certain
> >condition. You can expect 'reasonable' wear and tear between the time of
> >purchase and the point of closing, but the sellers are responsible for any
> >major changes in condition.
> >
> >If the condition is such that a professionally inspected roof went from
> >peachy keen to burnt toast, then I can't imagine any judge in any small
> >claims court not awarding you the cost of a new roof. Judge Judy comes to
> >mind ...
> While you might be right that the seller "should" have disclosed that
> the roof might have been damaged by the hail or "should" have filed a
> claim with their insurance carrier before the completion of the sale,
> it is rather more questionable that they had any legal obligation to
> do either of those things or that they are obligated to cover the cost
> of any necessary roof repairs now.
> Some states require the seller to disclose any information about the
> house which might influence the buyer's willingness to complete a
> purchase. Other states require only that the seller disclose
> information explicitly requested by the buyer. Since the OP did not
> say what state the house is in, we have no way of knowing what law
> would be applicable where he is.
> "Any judge in any small claims court" is bound to follow the law, not
> to follow what he thinks people "should" do. If the law in the OP's
> state does not require the seller to disclose information not requested
> by the buyer, and if the OP did not explicitly ask the seller before
> completing the purchase, "By the way, to your knowledge, has the
> condition of the house changed in any significant way since we
> inspected it?" then the seller was under no obligation to disclose
> anything, and for a judge to rule in the buyer's favor would be
> contrary to the law.
> My advice to the OP would be to find a good lawyer (ask coworkers and
> neighbors for reference) with whom to discuss the situation. Most
> lawyers will give you an initial consultation for free, so you can
> outline the facts and they can tell you whether it's worth paying them
> to pursue the matter. Lay out the situation to a lawyer, and he/she
> will be able to tell you whether you can pursue action against the
> sellers or their insurance company.
> --
> Help stop the genocide in Darfur!
> http://www.genocideintervention.net/
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> inspected. The home was inspected March 11th. At that time, the
> inspector told us that the roof was in excellent house and probably had
> many years left (the house is only 5 years old). Between our
> inspection and the time of closing there were hail storms in the area.
> (We think they occurred the day AFTER our inspection, March 12th). We
> lived in another state and knew nothing about the storms.
> Now fast forward several months later. We are enjoying our new home
> immensely. We have noticed all of our neighbors getting new roofs.
> When we ask why they tell us that there were major hail storms that
> caused some damage to their roofs. In a sense of caution we get our
> roof inspected and are told that we have hail damage and need a whole
> new roof which will cost over $5000. I've talked briefly with our
> insurance company about the situation. They say that they probably
> won't pay for the damage because we didn't own the home/have insurance
> with them at the time of the damage.
> Can we go back to the sellers and get their insurance to pay for a new
> roof? Is this something that the sellers should have disclosed prior
> to closing? Who is responsible for damage that occurs between
> inspection and closing?