Can I sue? Can’t live in house just closed on

Question

I just bought and closed on a property that was flipped and I had Piedmont come out today to turn on the gas however they told me they couldn’t because the equipment in my house is not up to code (attached list of what needs to be done).

Post inspection one of the items on the list to be repaired was the water heater vent pipe. It was originally routed into the chimney and now is routed out of the house. However, it wasn’t done correctly according to Piedmont.

The second issue with the central heat was not caught at all during the inspection, and peidmont says as is it would be releasing carbon monoxide into my house if he turned it on. The central heat was turned on up until a week ago when I closed.

As is, I’m not able to live there since I do not have heat. Is this something I should speak to a lawyer about? Is it worth going back to the inspector? I purchased a home warranty, but not for sure it would cover anything like this.

John Teachout · Answer

Don't really have any idea of what your issues are there but I have had gas companies come up with some pretty scary scenarios for properties that have been functioning fine for decades. If it's all venting issues, I'd just get an HVAC company out there and get it resolved. Why are you thinking "lawsuit" already based on some comments from a gas company guy? Seems like a pretty big leap.

Mike Cumbie · Answer

Hi @Ali Knox

DISCLAIMER: I am not licensed in TN or familiar with their laws. Also any information provided is just the mindless ramblings of some dolt on the internet and should only be used for entertainment purposes. Any advice provided should not be followed by any humans (or other life) on planet earth or surrounding solar systems.

Couple points:

1) Why was the gas not on during the inspections or closings? I am familiar with "Buyer Beware" or places that the buyer should be performing a "due diligence" and know what they have. If it was on at one point, why was it shut off requiring the gas company to come out and turn it back on? Our contracts have a "What utilities are on and will be on" type clause. If they were off and should be on.... Don't close and get it rectified.

2) If it was off during inspections, then the inspector was just guessing and I would hazard a guess they stated in the report "based on what I know". If they didn't have gas and electric active they can only make educated guessed. There could have been open lines and they would never really know. Those items hide behind walls and they can only see what is in plain sight. They can't rip out walls (or even move a couch) to see what is back there. The owner still has the property under their control.

3) If it was obvious and the seller knew, or there is something that shows they knew you may be able to go after them, but to what end? If it's only the repairs you listed total at a grand. Get it fixed and move in. No seller is going to go find the issues and fix them first. If you get it fixed and then say "Hey it cost me $800 to fix this problem, How come it was bad?" may get a favorable result. Saying "come figure this out and fix whatever it is" will get a "It's yours".

Good Luck and hope it works out!

Ali Knox · Answer

To add on..... I'm pretty frustrated with the seller to begin with. They had a list of repairs they agreed to and neglected to complete. They ended up paying me cash at closing to compensate after having to negotiate for this, but it likely will not cover all they agreed to fix. I know this is my fault, but contractually since it was stated they were to fix the vent up to code could I not go back with that at this time?

I working on getting an estimate on these items now. However, homeowners' warranty won't cover it unless its a leak since it involves rerouting they can not cover they say.

Allan Smith · Answer

I agree with the other comments here. I would add, when you did the inspection, the gas should have been turned on to get a proper full inspection, and at that time you would have found out about the problems when the gas company says they can't turn it on for the inspection.I would wager that the cost to get everything vented and make gas company happy is <$1000 and perhaps <$500. In my opinion, that's not really enough to be worth going after seller/realtor/inspector, but perhaps you could send something their way and try to scare one of them into offering some cash to save face. In the meantime, a space heater is $60.

Justin Abdilla · Answer

I think this is something a home warranty actually covers.  They're usually worthless, but this sounds like a problem with the central heat that's causing it to be hazardous.  I think you should call on your home warranty and call the inspector as well.  It's notoriously difficult to sue an inspector for negligence, so I don't think that's in the cards for you.

Beyond that, unless you can prove it was known to the seller at the time of sale, I don't see how you get any liability for failure to warn/disclose.  Your inspector didn't find this issue, so how was the seller supposed to know about it?

Welcome to home ownership!  This is just the first of many setbacks you will have in your REI journey, but it's not always like this.  Could be worth your time to speak with a lawyer, but I think most lawyers would have my view that this just isn't something actionable.

Sam Shueh · Answer

what is the estimate cost?  Lawyers cost is >$250/hr and any lawsuit can drag on for months.

Michael Heisterkamp · Answer

Gas companies tend to be overly worrisome. What I would do is as mentioned get the hvac people out and have them quote you on what it will cost to get the house upto code.  Then go back to the seller, the listing broker, the inspector and the city and say look.  You guys fucked up somewhere, you need to pay to get this fixed. What will likely happen is that the flipper will deny they did anything wrong, same goes for the inspector.  Then you will get the city code inspector will say there weren't any permits pulled to do the work and you can then go back to the seller and the seller's broker and say they failed to disclose that unpermited work was done to the house and get them to cover the costs.

Can I sue? Can’t live in house just closed on

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