County property violation from previous owner

[Kent Meentemeyer]

Hello,

I’m looking for anyone that has ran into a similar situation that I’m facing.

So I purchased a property in august of 2020. I’m in the middle of rehabbing this property. There is a creek that runs through the property that had concrete walls on it and they looked like they may need repair in the future. I didn’t think much about it other than I may have to fix them or pull them out and grade the creek.

I received a letter in mail from the county in October 2020 stating I had violations due to the dilapidated concrete walls. However the original violation date was back in may of 2018.

I now have gotten quotes to fix this creek for around 10k+. The seller did not mention any violations from the county on the disclosure.

I’m now finding out that there may have been litigation regarding this with the previous owner and the county but I’m still trying to research and find this out.

What kind of recourse do I have? There was no county lien so the title company wouldn’t be at fault? My agent could not have known there were issues either.

[Peter Kozlowski]

I would definitely consult with a lawyer on this. Make sure any advice you get is from a certified legal professional. 

[Chandler C.]

Definitely sounds like a pretty crappy situation. The disclosure statement wasn't accurate and the seller had prior knowledge of an issue, so you may have standing as your agreement was violated. And I also agree with @Peter Kozlowski. Best to consult with a lawyer. 

@Kent Meentemeyer did you figure out a solution? I haven't run across this situation yet, but I'm interesting in hearing an update if you have one.  

[Kent Meentemeyer]

@Chandler Cartolano

Not yet I’m in contact with an attorney to see if there is any possible legal action I could take.

I will let you know the outcome.

[Mary Cerone]

@Kent Meentemeyer any update here? Interested to see how this is progressing.

[Mike S.]

@Kent Meentemeyer

Didn’t your title search when you bought the property looked for city, county and utilities outstanding violations, open permits, and liens? That is usually a pretty common search.

[Kent Meentemeyer]

Yeah so I will give everyone an update.  

The title company gave zero accountability to this as they said that the violations to the previous owner were not public record.  I had to petition and pay for the court records to find out that the previous owner had been summoned for over 2 years to court April 2018 (several court appearances) She told the judge she was working on it but never actually did anything and thus wasn’t fined.  

I’ve since talked to the army Corp of engineers and they worked with me and allowed me to make my own drawings and plan.  They gave me a work permit and I have completed the work.  I had to rent a mini excavator and a bobcat to complete. Around 3,000 dollars in work. 

My only legal course of action would to sue the previous owner about not disclosing the issue.  If I win then I would need to collect.  🙄.  

I’m very irritated that the court documents aren’t public record.  Serious loophole in Saint Charles county.  

Hope that helps someone.

[Wayne Brooks]

@Kent Meentemeyer

Here when a title company does their search, they Usually do what we call a City/County Lien search....this involves actual letters to the various county depts asking if there any violations/fines Pending, as these don’t show up as recorded liens. This is an additional fee to the standard O&E report which only details Recorded items. 

[Kent Meentemeyer]

@Wayne Brooks

Yeah that’s interesting. So I should ask that on the next property I purchase?

[Dan Stehr]

Kent,

It doesn't work like that with Missouri title searches.  If it's not recorded with the recorders office or on Case Net your title company wouldn't pick it up.  In your case there was nothing to pick up since the lien was never recorded against the property.  It's just a matter of non-disclosure by the previous owner.  Unfortunately, if it's even worth your time, your best route would be to sue.  You could go small claims court since only $3k and wouldn't have to hire an attorney.  Most likely would win, but no guarantees on collecting.