https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 05 May 2026 04:53:51 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042328 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 15:31:46 +0000 catlady 2042328@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had something like this happen to us, except the plumbing issue popped up literally the day after we moved in. After talking with our plumber, he said that from what he saw, the previous owner had to have known about the issue. We got in touch with her and she denied it, and basically told us we were out of luck. We had about 2k worth of damage and just ate it. There wasn't really a good way to prove that the previous owner had known, so we let it go. Sorry you're dealing with this. :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042319 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 15:22:49 +0000 spaniellove 2042319@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We've discovered countless issues like this over the last few years. Shoddy plumbing fixes, improperly installed outdoor outlets that caused massive leaks into the home, window issues, just all kinds of tiny things the inspector never saw. We realized that a lot of the problems stemmed from a contractor who'd been doing renovations and repairs for the previous owner, so it's unlikely the owner knew what was going on. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042284 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 15:00:13 +0000 MamaG 2042284@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Even if it was the immediate prior home owner, I think it would be difficult to prove anything. Most likely a shoddy plumber did the repair and to the best of the homeowners knowledge it was done correctly. Meaning the homeowner either doesn't know enough about plumbing to know it was done wrong, or didn't crawl under the house to inspect it or both.</p> <p>It's a bummer, but I think you are out of luck.</p> <p>I had not even moved into my house, when I had a leak from the attic to the second floor. It was a drain hose from the furnace/AC that wasn't properly sloped. There were towels stuffed in the drain pan to soak up the excess. When I called my realtor to complain about this he pretty much said, sorry. You had an inspection and it wasn't noted. Which really irked me as I used the inspector my realtor recommended. How did they not see the bath towels in the drain pan and think that was off? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042278 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:57:10 +0000 Maysprout 2042278@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@matador84: this doesn't even seem like anyone lied. It could have been something that resembled duct tape and just wAs something like fiber fix overtop of a repair job. Honestly I've had repairmen lie about shoddy work to make it seem like they're the only honest person doing good work in the business. And if it held up for that many years it's not that shoddy of a job and doesn't sound like it was leaking possibly when the previous home owners owned the house. Your inspector should have given you an indication about the age of the pipes, which sound like age if they were cast iron and rusting. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042275 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:55:37 +0000 PurplePumps 2042275@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would not put put any claim in with home owners insurance for this. Or at least call and check what a claim will do to your rates to determine if it's worth it. A friend of ours had Liberty and had to put in a claim (due to gas company messing something up and causing their basement to flood), their rates went up about 30% and they lost their "safe customer rating", which they said NEVER gets wiped off their record. So if they stayed with that insurance house and insurance company their $3k claim now cost them $500/year for LIFE. We had to put in a claim for a break in and our insurance went up almost 50% (900/year). But at least with our insurance company (metlife) that drops off your record after 3 years. Even if it's not your fault at all, it could effect your rates. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042254 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:46:29 +0000 matador84 2042254@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Charm54: Yes I remember looking through that document, so I know we have it in our files.</p> <p>@coopsmama: Yeah, I am with you unfortunately. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042251 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:45:30 +0000 matador84 2042251@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@avivoca: No mold problem. They went down there to replace the cast iron which had rusted out and then they found other shoddy plumbing issues which included the duct taped plumbing.</p> <p>@ShootingStar: That's our biggest issue. When you sign the disclosure agreement, you are agreeing any issues you know about. </p> <p>@Jess1483: oh my gosh. yeah that is crazy. we are hoping we could potentially get some of it covered through homeowners. </p> <p>@T.H.O.U.: yes we carry homeowners insurance. I think you might be thinking of a home warranty, which is usually only for a year or so before you renew.</p> <p>@BeachMama: I don't think I have it in me to take legal action against the previous homeowners. The man who lived here before us is in his 90s now, so I highly doubt the plumbing was from him. We are friends with our neighbors who are close friends with the homeowners before him, and they did a lot of work on the house so I'd imagine they did the plumbing. His wife passed away last year and he lives several hundred miles away, is in his late sixties at the youngest...so I'm not sure it's even worth it.</p> <p>Such a bummer!</p> <p>@Maysprout: yeah i totally get that. we had one of the best home inspectors in our town come do the inspection. I remember our inspector going down into the crawl space, but a lot of where the issue is in a corner under the kitchen and is tough to get to. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042250 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:44:24 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 2042250@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Charm54: yup, this. We found out our previous owners lied about aomething &amp; there's nothing we could do about it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042247 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:43:54 +0000 coopsmama 2042247@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Honestly, I think taking legal action would be somewhat of a waste because you'd incur expenses that would no doubt be equivalent to or near the price of the repair anyway. That's what I've heard from others. I also know that it is extremely difficult to prove that they knew something was up - unless someone else can show that they knew, they could lie through their teeth all day untortunately. </p> <p>Oh the joys of home ownership. I'm sorry you're dealing with this. :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042236 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:37:26 +0000 Charm54 2042236@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Did you have them sign a Property Condition Disclosure ? When we bought our house our lawyer had the owners fill this out - basically went through a ton of potential issues and the owners signed beside each that they knew of none. If they lie, they can be held liable for future costs. As our lawyer said, it's usually hard to go back and prove that they were lying, but it does offer some level of protection and the duct tape would certainty be proof of prior knowledge! I would take a look at your closing documents and see if anything like that was in there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042228 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:35:16 +0000 avivoca 2042228@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know that there is anything you could do to prove that the previous owners knew about it. Is there a mold problem due to the leaking? If there is, I would talk to your insurance company about that ASAP. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042225 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:34:26 +0000 ShootingStar 2042225@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would talk to your real estate attorney. The buyer is supposed to sign paperwork saying the house is in good condition to the best of their knowledge. If they didn't disclose something like that, I believe they committed fraud :-/. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042215 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:27:02 +0000 Jess1483 2042215@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our pipes backed up and cost $5000 to repair...11 days after closing. But we are pretty sure previous owners could not have known. I hope you can get some of it covered, but unless they were the only previous owners, it could be hard to prove. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042214 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:26:50 +0000 Maysprout 2042214@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>And honestly in 2 years you could have easily done it (not saying you did, just thinking of all the crap people could pull if they held previous homeowners liable this long after the fact). It would be extremely hard to prove they intentionally misled you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042208 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:22:57 +0000 Maysprout 2042208@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I doubt anything could be done 2 years later. It could have been a friend or even a poor plumber who made the repairs and the home owners may not have known or it may have been the people before them. That's why it's important to hire a thorough inspector. And most inspections have lots of legal wording so you can't sue them if you find something they missed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042207 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:22:27 +0000 BeachMama 2042207@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sounds like you may be able to take legal action against the previous owners. We had an issue we thought the previous owners may have known about and should have disclosed. Our realtor said we'd have to be able to prove they knew about it (which it sounds like you can do) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042199 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:18:46 +0000 T.H.O.U. 2042199@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Honestly, I would look at talking to a real estate attorney. </p> <p>Do you have home owners insurance? Ours was only for one year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-found-out-your-home-had-a-previous-issue#post-2042198 Tue, 27 Jan 2015 14:17:00 +0000 matador84 2042198@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had no idea what to title this thread.</p> <p>The backstory is we bought our home two years ago. Had a home inspector come, didn't find anything wrong with the home, and we bought the house. Fast forward to now, I've been smelling something weird the past few months and told DH we needs to have a plumber come look (pier and beam foundation on the house). Plumber comes out and estimates it around $2000 in work needed in plumbing.</p> <p>Doing the work now and discovers the previous homeowners knew about a leak in the pipes because some of the pipes are duct taped and the duct tape came off. :shocked: </p> <p>How would you approach this situation with homeowners insurance?? </p>