RE agent and inspector responsibilites/liabilities to buyer

[Kelly G.]

This is a long post - thanks for your time!  fyi: house purchased in CO

I recently purchased a HUD house through an agent. I bought the house w/o ever actually seeing it. Never had a 'buyer's agent' agreement - not sure that it should matter. I had an inspection done by someone the RE agent recommended (yes, I knew better but . . .). Doesn't the agent have a fiduciary responsibility to their client (buyer in this case) regardless of any documentation or signed agreement? What is the inspector's liability/responsibility? No - this is not my first 'rodeo' but this case is a bit outrageous: Here are the details:

1) House listed as "gas" (= natural gas; not propane; houses w/ propane are listed as such). My agent and the inspector failed to notice that there was no gas meter on the house.  After closing I called CO nat. gas only to learn that the house has never had natural gas; was on propane.  Would cost about $1000 to run gas from street to the house.  I'm feeling like my agent, the listing agent and my inspector should split the cost to put in the line.  I thought I bought a house w/ natural gas; not propane.   Thoughts?  

2) My inspector failed to document that the entire water supply line had been disassembled in the crawl space.  I knew the house was "winterized" but did not discover the disassembled supply lines until I was moving in.  Called the water company to turn on the water . . and . . .no water.  My agent also knew the house was 'winterized" but never said anything about what that entailed.  I 'thought' it just meant the water was turned off, faucets open to drain lines and antifreeze in discharge lines.  Now I'm here w/ no water for days!  Do I have any recourse w/ the agent and/or inspector? Had I known the lines were disassembled, I could have called a plumber in advance.  

3) Inspector failed to document a lot of 'minor' damage to the property including flooring that was 'unglued' due to water damage (I knew there was a plumbing leak, but inspector indicated it was in the kitchen; actually the leak was in the bathroom).  Other damage includes major holes in the walls for plumbing access (shower), water damage around the doors, not so small areas of patched walls done very poorly (possible water damage 'repair'), holes in doors, window screens missing, possible water leaks from roof (?) in a couple areas around the house w/ possible mold (my opinion; the whole house smells musky like mildew/mold).  I will likely find other things.  

I am inclined to hire another 'inspector' to document all the problems, particularly to address the possible roof leaks and mold (now dried in the cold, dry CO winters).  I wanted to start tearing out carpet etc, but think I should wait till I document all this. 

What recourse might I pursue w/ my agent and inspector?  I really feel like I paid more for this house than I should have, had the true condition been disclosed/documented etc.  Also, I had asked my agent to take additional photos while I still had a chance to back out; she only sent me photos of the outside - I figured there was nothing 'undisclosed' in the interior.  

btw: I know that HUD houses are sold 'as is' - which is why I hired an inspector before closing, while I could still back out - which I very well may have done had I known about all the issues.

thanks for your time

Kelly