Misleading seller!! Who pays the Fees????

[Petya Toncheva]

Hello BiggerPockets community, I recently got an offer excepted on a Two family home, had the appraisal done, had a home inspection done, and then this happened. The lawyer called and said that the home is NOT a two family home. It is in fact, a SINGLE family home, I subsequently went down to zoning and planning and they confirmed that it is a one family home and that it is illegal to rent it out as a two family. Now, since I had the home inspection done I am getting billed by this company.

Am I liable to pay this bill?

I respect the home inspectors time but I feel like the agents knew or had some concerns and were obligated to advise me accordingly. I also fear that if I do pay the home inspector that I will then receive a bill from the bank for the appraisal they did.

I feel like I was misled by the sellers agent, as well as my real estate agent who are considered to be fiduciaries and have the experience of over 30 years, and should be able to tell me or advise me that this is a single-family.

I would love any and all advice on this especially if you have ever been in a situation like this.

Thanks in advance.

[Bill B.]

You’re certainly liable for the inspection and the appraisal. You ordered them and neither of those 2 people are to blame. Your only hope is to get reimbursed. 

Is/was the property currently being rented out to 2 unrelated parties? Are the units separate inside the house? If so, was it grandfathered in? (It would still be listed as SFR but legal for you to rent out as a duplex.)

You’re going to notice a bunch of disclaimers on any contract so barring a specific statement that this is a “legal duplex in all regards” statement in the listing you probably won’t win in court but you can ask politely. 

But first make sure it’s not grandfathered in. Something had to make you think it was a duplex.