Parties That You Might Think To Target After Issues With A Home Inspection
Posted on: 6 December 2018
For many home buyers, the home inspection is one final hurdle to get through before the purchase goes firm. A good home inspector will be able to identify the majority of issues that are present in a home, but it's impossible for even an experienced inspector to notice everything. If you buy the house and move in, it's possible that you might soon be aware of a major issue that the inspector missed. Such a difficult scenario isn't just frustrating — it can also be costly for you. You may wish to consult with a real estate attorney, like those at Johnson Motinger Greenwood Law Firm, and discuss taking legal action against one or more parties.
The Home Inspector
The home inspector is an obvious target should you wish to take legal action in this situation. He or she missed the issue that you've since noticed, and now you'll have to pay money to deal with the problem. There are many different ways to build this case. One method is to consult with a couple of other home inspectors and have them assess the issue in question. If they will support your case by stating that any professional home inspector should have noticed the problem and reported it to you, your case will have more merit.
The Real Estate Agent
You might also wish to think about taking action against your real estate agent. This can be a difficult decision to make, given that you may have worked closely with the agent over a period of weeks or months as you shopped for a home, but you need to put any personal feelings aside and assess the role that the agent had in this unfortunate situation. It's possible that the agent recommended the home inspector, so he or she may have some culpability for not choosing an inspector who was particularly skilled.
The Seller
The seller of the home might not be an obvious target of your legal action, but there are certain cases in which targeting him or her may be appropriate. If your real estate attorney's investigators can assess the scene and deem that the seller purposely tried to hide the issue from you and your inspector — perhaps by covering it up superficially so that it would pass the inspection, but not actually correcting the issue — the seller definitely has a role to play. By targeting one or more of these individuals, you'll ideally get a suitable settlement that will pay for the repair of the work.
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