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Updated 7 months ago on . Most recent reply

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Ashley Gamble
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HELP! Sellers didn't disclose major issues - unrentable and requires massive repairs

Ashley Gamble
Posted

We recently bought a property that we have found out within the first few weeks of owning it that is has VERY SERIOUS drainage and humidity issues and lots of previous water damage that the sellers did not disclose. Massive dehumidifiers are filling with - we can't rent until a slew of multi thousand dollar repairs are completed.

We were told that the dehumidifiers the sellers had in the house were only used during the spring when snowmelt was very bad. When the sellers left, they left the dehumidifiers on and we are now removing over 2-4
gallons of water DAILY with them and it would be more if they didn't fill up then shut off. Smaller ones are filling up within 12 hours and the large unit they left with 2x 5 gallon water jugs to empty into AND a catchment below....because obviously the sellers knew that it fills over 5+ gallons in just TWO DAYS.

We have had to get a structuralengineer in who has noted other water damage throughout the basement (unfinished) that was hidden behind sellers boxes and personal items during our inspection. Our original inspector noted a drainage issue on the north side because of improper sloping. Sellers did not allow us to get professionals in to give estimates for a french drain before closing (yes, our red flag we should have walked away with), but agreed to lower closing price. We have also found our that the sellers lied on their disclosure of what they knew about the hail damage to roof. We
did get negotiate money from them to help with roof repair, but now know they were not honest on their disclosure.

Our inspector missed  code violations, HVAC issues, pipes that had been worked on and issues hidden that had occurred while sellers lived in the house, signs of drainage and water damage inside the house that had been painted over, completely blocked dryer vent...and we are finding more daily.

We have had the house looked at by a structural engineer and HVAC techs  that has told us we need thousands (likely tens of thousands) of dollars worth of repairs to make this property able to rent and come up to code for rental. We also can't have renters dealing with the humidifiers as it is a mold problem/foundation issue if it isn't taken care of.

We are taking pictures and videos of everything, we have multiple professionals that have documented everything (and told us to lawyer up) and have neighbors that we have already had agree to discuss their  drainage problems when we get a lawyer.

HELP!!
-Recommendations for Denver real estate lawyers? Especially if they specialize in seller disclosure problems.
-We have to move forward to help mitigate this problem b/c one owner lives 3 hours away and I live 30 min away and can't be at the house daily to empty dehumidifiers.
-What other information should we be gathering?
-What else can we do?!

Thank you for ANY advice!!!

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Max Serpe
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Max Serpe
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  • Phoenix
Replied

Just a potential short term solution to the emptying daily issue, I don't have answers to the other questions above. 

I don't know how the humidifiers are configured, but you might be able to put a small pump into each reservoir (search "automatic bilge pump" on amazon) and move the water into either a larger collection tank (think 55 gallon drum) or drain. Might be able to pump it up out of the basement entirely if you are creative. This would solve the problem of having to be there daily. Likely would move it to weekly, if you can pump it entirely out of the basement then it's handled indefinitely (you just need to check on the bilge pumps). 

Shorter term solution, probably could be done in 5 hours by someone handy for less than $200 of materials. 

EDIT: take a look at the SAILFLO 2000 GPH 12v Electric Bilge Pump. In the specs, it says it can pump water up 20 feet vertically, so that should get you out of a basement if it has a window or something. You'll need to figure out how to wire it (it's not that tricky, a lot of devices have a 12v power supply) or pick a different model that can plug into a wall but has similar specs. 

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