I just bought a new home and upon moving in I realized the heater wasn't working. My kid, wife and I spent a night in the frigid tundra I call home and have had a difficult time doing anything around the house in the cold. In any case I called the subcontractor electrician to come take a look at it and he said there was a missing gasline the was supposed to be placed. Apparently he was suprised the house passed inspection without them connecting the gasline to the heating unit and told me to call plumbing. So anyways I called the plumbing subcontractor to come fix the problem and he said he didn't have the materials to fix my problem and would have to wait till Monday but would come in and take a look at it anyways. It's been such a hassle having to wait for all these contractors to come in this afternoon and decided to just cancel it until Monday and spend the night somewhere else to get it fixed. I couldn't do anything today because of this. My question would be this: If a house passes inspection but things were left out what are the chances I could sue over this and is it worth any trouble to pursue it? Would the contractor and the inspector of the house just get a slap on the wrist for missing something? Would I be able to get some kind of compensation? Thanks..........
A lot of new homes come with warranties. Are you sure yours didn't? If so, you might want to check that before you shell out cash for repairs.
is this a re-sale home or a completely brand new construction home? if new, then it should have warranty...
It has warranty but that's really not the issue. When it passed inspection there was a missing gasline. The electrician was not able to set up my heater because I have to get the plumbing company to come in and set up a gasline. It will get fixed, I just wanted to know if inspectors can get away with passing a house for inspection when it shouldn't have passed. It is a brand new house by the way
I know there is one inspector for sure on here because he inspected my house. Maybe he hasn't sen the thread yet. I'm sure the inspector is responsible for checking the heating and the cooling for sure and marking off it they worked or not. Do you have a copy of the report so you can see what they put on there? I believe if the inspector put on there that it is in working order and it wasn't he possibly could be in trouble for that.
I don't know about any laws but inspectors miss lots of stuff... hell I had 2 inspectors come through my house when it was built and they each caught some things the other didn't. No offense, but testing the heating is just bonedead stupid for an inspector not to do. I can't believe it got past city inspection, too. There are some things that can be missed by any inspector, but damn... Like I said, I don't know if they can be "sued" or whatever it is you want to do, because sadly it happens all the time. Maybe someone else here can help you.
My guess is that if the end result of this is that you spent a few chilly nights and it gets fixed, if you were to sue, you, the contractor, the inspector, everybody...would lose money. The only people that would make money would be the lawyers. I'm actually surprised you would bring up litigation about something like this.
I've never sued before, have you? I'm curious how you determine if you would lose money or not. I guess my main concern was that an inspector ok'd the house w/o really checking. Don't they have a checklist or something? I just can't believe it fell through the cracks like that and I'm the one who has to suffer through it. I don't think I would've really pursued it. I think it would be more of a headache .
I'm assuming you purchased a re-sale... Did you hire an inspector to inspect it during the option period? Did you read the inspection report? It does not really pass or fail, they list the items that need attention. From your post it does not sound like you received/looked at the report. Just curious if you used a realtor? If you purchased new construction you should be working with the builder to resolve this.
Hello, Inspector in the house Anyway, I'm a little confused. You keep saying "the inspector" Was this a inspector that you hired? New construction? I have a hard time believing that a third party Professional Inspector could miss that. What's funny is most people dont think they need an inspection on new homes. You wouldn't believe some of the things I find
It's a brand new home. "Their" inspector (the one the builder used) apparently forgot to check off that there was a missing gas hose to connect to my heater. I'm just pissed about it b/c the electrician said he was surprised the house passed inspection after he found out about the missing gas hose. Turned out that he couldn't do anything for my heater until the gas hose is put in place. I can't believe something as obvious as that was missing as well. After calling the plumber (the subcontractor who installs the hoses) it bothered me even more that he didn't have the equipment and that I would have to wait till Monday. Anyways, what to do if a contractor doesn't do his/her job right? Do you guys get in trouble for things like that? Who do I blame? the contractor (the person who didn't install it)or the inspector (for not seeing that)???
Any inspector should have fired up the heater and checked the temperature in the plenum. He was lazy and assumed the new construction was complete. I would call your real estate attorney first. I might have him send a registered letter to the builder and the company that issued your warranty. They should pay the cost of repairs even if it means ripping out a wall. They should also reinburse you for monies spent on alternative living arrangements if the house is uninhabitable. I mighthave him send a registered letter to the cetifying agency the inspector is a member of (it should be on his inspection report). He will also have some professional insurance, if you can find it I might notify them. It would depennd on if you want to pay his fees to exact some sense of revenge (it's fun , but it costs) If the warranty/builder people don't jump right in and completely fix the problem, then write you letters threatening to sue (try honey before vinegar) There might even be a possibility of punitive damages depending on your state. If there is, your lawyer might work for 30% of what ever he can get. Lawyers?
You probably can't sue, it would most likely go to arbitration at teh trcc. And they will rule in favor of the builder, since thats who they were formed for. If they don't fix it you have something, but if they are making reasonable attempts to correct the issue, whats the problem? You should have had your own independent inspector.
All new home builders have an emergency number. They usually give to you at closing. You just call them and they will take care of it. I also agree with Samurai Jack you should have hired your own inspector (you should still do this now while they home is still under the 1 year warranty). My wife is a realtor and always recomends her buyers hire their own inspector and the inspector usually finds things that are in need of attention. It is well worth the cost.
This is simple, you blame the contractor (builder). You didn’t hire the inspector (assuming their was an inspection at all) Did you actually see an inspection report? You need to hire a inspector before your 1 year warranty is up.
if you bought your home new you need to go over to the sales office and have a little chat w/ your sales counselor. not the electrician or the plumber. whomever sold you your home should be the one taking care of everything. i wouldnt go the lawsuit route yet, but they should at least compensate you for your hotel. just curious...who did you buy from?
Well, a lawyer is going to charge you a retainer. Then they'll charge you to send a letter to them saying you are upset. Then, the builder's lawyer will charge him to send you a letter back. Then your lawyer will charge you to respond. In the end, the home is going to get fixed anyways, and you, the builder, the plumber, etc. have all paid a couple of thousands of dollars to some lawyers to send some letter back and forth for the problem to get fixed anyways.
More than likely, the inspector that came out, on behalf of the builder, was actually the builder's bank inspector. All they care about is whether the house is "done" so they can fund out draws on the construction loan. They aren't looking for defects, but rather, to see if the funds that the borrower is drawing out are going towards the home. Not sure if he would be liable, since he is not representing you, or the builder really.
