Structural Engineer Found House Structurally Unsound

[structure]

What is the name of your state? Georgia

We had a signed contract to sell our home, subject to inspection. The home was found to be structurally unsound much to our surprise since we had the house inspected four years ago when we purchased it, and our inspector wrote "no structural defect detected." The sellers backed out. We went to our original inspector and he reinspected the house and said he messed up. He should have found the structural defect in his inspection. It is going to cost between $40k to $60k to fix. Do we have any recourse against the inspector or the builder? The house is 21 years old and has been owned by at least two other families that we know of. (I don't know if that is relevant, but I'd thought of throwing it in just in case we might have some recourse against them as well.)

 

[matti422]

If your inspector was a licensed professional, you might have a malpractice suit. Additionally, you should check your contract with the inspector and see if it had an guarantees in it, or statements of liability. Is there any reason to think the previous owners knew of the issue and didn't disclose it? Was the building designed poorly, or did this occur over time?

There are issues with this because you've been in the house so long - it will be hard to prove the defect existed before you moved in. Nothing's going to be a slam dunk.

 

[structure]

If your inspector was a licensed professional, you might have a malpractice suit. Additionally, you should check your contract with the inspector and see if it had an guarantees in it, or statements of liability. Is there any reason to think the previous owners knew of the issue and didn't disclose it? Was the building designed poorly, or did this occur over time?

There are issues with this because you've been in the house so long - it will be hard to prove the defect existed before you moved in. Nothing's going to be a slam dunk.

According to the Structural Engineer and the new inspector, the structural damage was not consistent with this occurring over time, such as "settling". We were in the house under four years, and our original inspector said he should have caught it when he inspected it four years ago.

I'm not sure if the previous owners knew and didn't disclose. I don't know how to go about researching that.

Our inspector is a licensed professional. I don't have my inspection report with me so I don't know if it had any statements of guarantee or liability in it. I'll check that when I get home.

 

[John Se]

details of "unsoundeness"

Can you give us any details?, Unsoundness is an opinion not something you can measure, also how old is the house and what is the construction method?

 

[seniorjudge]

According to the Structural Engineer and the new inspector, the structural damage was not consistent with this occurring over time, such as "settling". We were in the house under four years, and our original inspector said he should have caught it when he inspected it four years ago.

I'm not sure if the previous owners knew and didn't disclose. I don't know how to go about researching that.

Our inspector is a licensed professional. I don't have my inspection report with me so I don't know if it had any statements of guarantee or liability in it. I'll check that when I get home.

Time to hire a lawyer....

 

[structure]

Can you give us any details?, Unsoundness is an opinion not something you can measure, also how old is the house and what is the construction method?

I haven't actually seen the structural engineers report yet. But, my RE agent said that he found sloping floors, and that each floor is too heavy, and not supported from the top down. He said that's what is causing the floors to slope.

He said that many interior walls would have to be replaced and braced. He estimated $40k to $60k to fix.

It is a two story home with a daylight, walk out basement. The house is 21 years old. I'm not sure what you mean by construction method, but it has a brick front, wooden frame, and three sides have plank siding.

 

[matti422]

Sounds like the builder and/or architect may have also screwed up.

SeniorJudge is right - time to hire a lawyer.

 

[structure]

Sounds like the builder and/or architect may have also screwed up.

SeniorJudge is right - time to hire a lawyer.

Can anyone suggest what type of lawyer I would contact? I contacted several real estate attorneys but each one I contacted specializes in closings. Malpractice Attorneys to seem more geared toward medical situations.

 

[seniorjudge]

Can anyone suggest what type of lawyer I would contact? I contacted several real estate attorneys but each one I contacted specializes in closings. Malpractice Attorneys to seem more geared toward medical situations.

http://www.gabar.org/about_the_bar/

Ask these folks for a referral....

 

[John Se]

construction methods

do you think the house was built all at one time, or added on to alot, was it even built with a permit? are you in a city, or a county? lots of times counties didnt require permits, therefore alot of construction was done by hacks, with out plans or designs, does this house look like that. are you neighbors houses built by the same builder? or they all "custom" or put together by amateurs. Is this house in a subdividision, or just subdivided lots?

 

[structure]

do you think the house was built all at one time, or added on to alot, was it even built with a permit? are you in a city, or a county? lots of times counties didnt require permits, therefore alot of construction was done by hacks, with out plans or designs, does this house look like that. are you neighbors houses built by the same builder? or they all "custom" or put together by amateurs. Is this house in a subdividision, or just subdivided lots?

The house is in a neighborhood. It is a beautiful home, with lots of details, dental molding, crown molding, etc. I talked with a neighbor yesterday, and he says the builder declared bankruptcy shortly after building our subdivision. At this point, I think my only option is to hire a construction litigator. However, one I talked to yesterday said she is hesitant to take on new cases because people rarely see them through. Translation... they are hard to get a quick judgement on and people get discouraged before following them through.

By the way... what good is getting a home inspection when it says in the contract that he is not liable and does not guarantee ANYTHING???? Shame on home inspectors!

 

[seniorjudge]

The house is in a neighborhood. It is a beautiful home, with lots of details, dental molding, crown molding, etc. I talked with a neighbor yesterday, and he says the builder declared bankruptcy shortly after building our subdivision. At this point, I think my only option is to hire a construction litigator. However, one I talked to yesterday said she is hesitant to take on new cases because people rarely see them through. Translation... they are hard to get a quick judgement on and people get discouraged before following them through.

By the way... what good is getting a home inspection when it says in the contract that he is not liable and does not guarantee ANYTHING???? Shame on home inspectors!

Translation: I want some money up front because I do not think you have a good case.

 

[John Se]

"structurally unsound"

so what about it is "structurally unsound" have you seen this defect?. You See in construction, since its one of the last wildcat industries, You can get 50 different stories from 50 different guys. "structurally unsound" to me would mean in "imminent failure is apparent". is that the case, or it needs to be torn down or condemed, Cities condem houses wich are structurally unsound.

 

[John Se]

"structurally unsound"

so what about it is "structurally unsound" have you seen this defect?. You See in construction, since its one of the last wildcat industries, You can get 50 different stories from 50 different guys. "structurally unsound" to me would mean in "imminent failure is apparent". is that the case, or it needs to be torn down or condemed, Cities condem houses wich are structurally unsound. Also if the guy who inspected the house has a company who can fix it for you, of course he is gonna tell you "its bad, Real Bad!" Do you think it real bad, you didnt notice your sloping floors? before you bought it?

 

[structure]

so what about it is "structurally unsound" have you seen this defect?. You See in construction, since its one of the last wildcat industries, You can get 50 different stories from 50 different guys. "structurally unsound" to me would mean in "imminent failure is apparent". is that the case, or it needs to be torn down or condemed, Cities condem houses wich are structurally unsound. Also if the guy who inspected the house has a company who can fix it for you, of course he is gonna tell you "its bad, Real Bad!" Do you think it real bad, you didnt notice your sloping floors? before you bought it?

There are sloping floors. And, our inspector noted them in his inspection report, but he said that the floors sloping was consistent with "settling" of a house its age. His report says "no structural defect is detected". My husband met him at the house and he told my husband basically that he messed up. (He used more graphic language.) He said it three times. He missed the structural defect. We are in the process now of hiring another structural engineer to assess the damage.

I think "structurally unsound" was too harsh of a judgement. I think they should have found a "structural defect". The house is not about to fall down / and it does not need to be condemned.