Q: I bought a house without doing a home inspection. Almost a year after the house was purchased I found out that two-thirds of the roof has sustained massive fire damage. No one told me about this.
Is there anything I could do in order to get some type of reimbursement from the seller for the repair of the roof? I appreciate any assistance you could provide me.
A: I don’t know why anyone would purchase a house without paying for a professional home inspection. A good inspector would have climbed up into your attic, poked around and discovered evidence of the fire. You could have settled with the seller ahead of the closing, and saved yourself the headache. (And who knows what else the inspector might have found?)
Still, I wonder why this wasn’t disclosed on the seller disclosure form. Is the fire damage to the roof structural and was never repaired? Nearly ever state requires sellers to disclose material defects that aren’t visible to the naked eye. I think “massive fire damage” would count.
You should consult with a real estate attorney who has experience in seller disclosure litigation to see if you have a claim worth pursuing.
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