Hoping for some general advice on our current situation with our new home. We've been in the home about 6 months and noticed that the upstairs floors are sinking. This was somewhat apparent when touring the home but seller told us that he ran a beam across a long stretch when he took out supporting walls.
The issue we have is:
- Not sure if it is getting worse
- We found out he pulled no permits for any of the renovation work
- He marked on the sellers disclosure that there was no unpermitted work of that nature
We're not quite sure where to go from here. Seems like we have some legal recourse but its also unclear who to call to remediate. Found a structural engineering firm willing to "stamp a report" for us for $800 but they mentioned they can only inspect what they can see (drywall is covering everything).
Furthermore, the seller posted photos and videos of the house renovation on his public Facebook (which we have saved and downloaded for posterity in case we need it) showing clearly that interior, load-bearing walls were removed. The township has no record online of permits being pulled for removal of those walls, or more importantly, a professional installation of a new support beam.
Frankly, we're first and foremost hoping to get some peace of mind that our new home is safe.
tldr; seller didn't disclose unpermitted structural work, we have evidence walls were removed, and floors sank or are still sinking. What do?
Structural issues with unpermitted work and seller did not disclose
byu/Pepiopee inRealEstate
Posted by Pepiopee
7 Comments
Lawyer up!
Get a structural engineer to come out and assess the situation.
Get a few GC’s to come out and give you estimates.
Not A Lawyer – but I would fix the problem ASAP then sue the seller for the cost.
Good job saving those pics.
This was on you to pursue at the time of inspection phase and not take buyer’s word for it. We don’t know your state to know laws on disclosure or if permitting was required. Looking into requirements at time of inspection phase was also on you. Talk to an attorney.
Permits are related to the jurisdiction. Not all require permits for work completed by the owner ot on certain types of work completed. They did disclose you there was work done. That is when you should have had it inspected.
You will need to contact a lawyer that understands real estate law. Prepare for years and thousands of dollars. With maybe a settlement or maybe nothing.
The Facebook documentation is actually significant here. A seller who publicly posted renovation videos showing load-bearing wall removal and then marked the disclosure form saying no unpermitted work has a real problem. That paper trail is worth taking to a real estate attorney before you do anything else.
The $800 structural engineering report is still worth getting because you need something professional documenting what can be observed right now. But the legal question and the safety question need to run at the same time.
On the safety piece specifically, what you want an engineer evaluating is whether the beam that was installed can carry the load it was designed to carry. The permit process exists precisely to catch that before walls get closed up. A beam that was never inspected is a beam nobody has formally verified.
What state are you in? Disclosure laws vary quite a bit and it affects what your actual recourse looks like.
Your first step is to assess the issue. You need to pay a professional to come out and take a look at it and determine if this is a problem and what the corrective course of action is. Once you have a plan for repair, you can either speak with an attorney or go directly to the seller and request that they cover the cost of repair. Given all of the documentation you have, they may very well be willing to cover the cost of repair if it truly does require structural mitigation.
My first step would be to ask them directly without getting an attorney involved since a soft approach often works. But you can’t do anything until you actually know if this is a problem, the cause, and the appropriate corrective action.
Pictures would help us verify the walls are load bearing.
If you talk to the previous owner, you really should do it in such a way that you have a paper trail.
Please remember that verbal really doesn’t mean anything. He might say to you “Oh yes, I’ll get someone to fix it.” Or he may say, “You fix it and send me the bill.” But then he may not pay anything. And you don’t have proof that he said he would pay.
So try to use an email or certified letter or something so that you have proof for an attorney. And you may well have to involve an attorney.