New Homeowner Nightmare – Need Advice

[milkspot]

My aging parents purchased a new home. After they moved in, they noticed that the downstairs toilet was slow draining at times. They notified service personel on at least two occasions of this issue. However, the service rep never took the matter seriously always telling them that it is expected of low-flush toilets, etc.

Nine days after they moved in, the toilet overflowed and did significant damage. Most of the wood flooring had to be replaced, carpet in one room had to be replaced, the bottom section of drywalls were cut open to allow proper dehumidifying. The cause was a broken piece of pipe that was lodged in the outflow pipe that interfered with the drainage.

The builder has taken responsibility. They are putting my parents up in a hotel for a couple of weeks and fixing the damage. Aside from the great inconvenience they have cause my parents, I feel that they are due additional compensation because this problem has put an overhang on their house.

Because the damage is extensive, I believe that it is something that needs to be disclosed when the house is sold. Although the CA disclosure statement is not too explicit in this regard (correct me if I am wrong), I think that significant damage, even though it has been fixed, needs to be disclosed.

I just use common sense. If a car has been flooded and then dried, wouldn’t you want to know about it before you buy it? For me is the answer is yes and that goes for a home also. Not saying anything about it is lying by omission.

My thought is that this problem has a negative effect on the marketability and value of the house. This is how I see it. You visit a new development and see two essentially identical plans. One house suffered a toilet/sewage backup-related problem but has been fixed. The other one did not. I would actually pay more for the one that did not experience problem and remove all worries of potential mold issues.

My questions to the forum are …
Do you feel the house has been devalued because of this incident? If so, what are the chances of getting compensation through arbitration?

Any recommedation of a real estate attorney would also be appreciated. Thank you in advance for any replies.

[Raybyrnes]

I think you are wasting your time. Let the builder correct the problem. Have them pay your hotel bills and enjoy the new house. Stop with the drama on disclosures when they go to sell. What are you a flipper? You are buying to sell tomorrow. Go live in the house and if in 10 years you can remember this event than so be it. I highly doubt it will matter to the next buyer.

[Raybyrnes]

I think you are wasting your time. Let the builder correct the problem. Have them pay your hotel bills and enjoy the new house. Stop with the drama on disclosures when they go to sell. What are you a flipper? You are buying to sell tomorrow. Go live in the house and if in 10 years you can remember this event than so be it. I highly doubt it will matter to the next buyer.

[Raybyrnes]

I think you are wasting your time. Let the builder correct the problem. Have them pay your hotel bills and enjoy the new house. Stop with the drama on disclosures when they go to sell. What are you a flipper? You are buying to sell tomorrow. Go live in the house and if in 10 years you can remember this event than so be it. I highly doubt it will matter to the next buyer.

[Raybyrnes]

I think you are wasting your time. Let the builder correct the problem. Have them pay your hotel bills and enjoy the new house. Stop with the drama on disclosures when they go to sell. What are you a flipper? You are buying to sell tomorrow. Go live in the house and if in 10 years you can remember this event than so be it. I highly doubt it will matter to the next buyer.

[Raybyrnes]

I think you are wasting your time. Let the builder correct the problem. Have them pay your hotel bills and enjoy the new house. Stop with the drama on disclosures when they go to sell. What are you a flipper? You are buying to sell tomorrow. Go live in the house and if in 10 years you can remember this event than so be it. I highly doubt it will matter to the next buyer.

[svelte]

There was a study once that showed that, after 7 years, most of the surrounding population thought that a disaster that had happened couldn’t happen again (or something like that). I have found that to be true in areas I have lived.

I lived in an area that flooded from an overflowing river. It was the talk of the town for 3-4 years and people even soemewhat avoided buying there for that period of time. But by about the 7th year, no one talked about it, people were buying without giving it any thought, and new construction was even happening in the previously flooded area.

Think about what has happened here in San Diego with the 2003 Cedar Fire. People talked about it for 3-4 years, people planned their purchases based on fire danger, but it was getting rare to hear discussion about it when the 2007 Witch Creek Fire hit. I think we were on course for having the 03 Cedar Fire forgotten about by 2010 had it not been for the 2007 fire. Now, we’ll have to wait until about 2014 for people to return to that ‘it can’t happen here’ mentality.

This has been a long-winded way of saying, if ppl can forget about things that happen on that scale, they won’t be giving an accidental flooding in your folk’s home much thought. Especially if they keep the house longer than 7 years. 🙂

It sounds to me like the contractor is doing your parents right. If I were you, I’d pony up for a mold test when the work is complete (it is a new house, there should have been ZERO mold when you bought it, right?) as mold tests are becoming more popular and that is the one thing that could bite you come time to sell.

It’s your parents choice on whether they choose to disclose it when they sell, of course, but if I saw something that said “toilet overflowed and flooded the house 10 years ago so we completely reconstructed the flooring, etc and did a mold test” on the transaction paperwork, I doubt I would give it much weight and would probably see it as a bonus that the sellers were so up front.

I’m with Raybyrnes, I’d forget the lawsuit.

[svelte]

There was a study once that showed that, after 7 years, most of the surrounding population thought that a disaster that had happened couldn’t happen again (or something like that). I have found that to be true in areas I have lived.

I lived in an area that flooded from an overflowing river. It was the talk of the town for 3-4 years and people even soemewhat avoided buying there for that period of time. But by about the 7th year, no one talked about it, people were buying without giving it any thought, and new construction was even happening in the previously flooded area.

Think about what has happened here in San Diego with the 2003 Cedar Fire. People talked about it for 3-4 years, people planned their purchases based on fire danger, but it was getting rare to hear discussion about it when the 2007 Witch Creek Fire hit. I think we were on course for having the 03 Cedar Fire forgotten about by 2010 had it not been for the 2007 fire. Now, we’ll have to wait until about 2014 for people to return to that ‘it can’t happen here’ mentality.

This has been a long-winded way of saying, if ppl can forget about things that happen on that scale, they won’t be giving an accidental flooding in your folk’s home much thought. Especially if they keep the house longer than 7 years. 🙂

It sounds to me like the contractor is doing your parents right. If I were you, I’d pony up for a mold test when the work is complete (it is a new house, there should have been ZERO mold when you bought it, right?) as mold tests are becoming more popular and that is the one thing that could bite you come time to sell.

It’s your parents choice on whether they choose to disclose it when they sell, of course, but if I saw something that said “toilet overflowed and flooded the house 10 years ago so we completely reconstructed the flooring, etc and did a mold test” on the transaction paperwork, I doubt I would give it much weight and would probably see it as a bonus that the sellers were so up front.

I’m with Raybyrnes, I’d forget the lawsuit.

[svelte]

There was a study once that showed that, after 7 years, most of the surrounding population thought that a disaster that had happened couldn’t happen again (or something like that). I have found that to be true in areas I have lived.

I lived in an area that flooded from an overflowing river. It was the talk of the town for 3-4 years and people even soemewhat avoided buying there for that period of time. But by about the 7th year, no one talked about it, people were buying without giving it any thought, and new construction was even happening in the previously flooded area.

Think about what has happened here in San Diego with the 2003 Cedar Fire. People talked about it for 3-4 years, people planned their purchases based on fire danger, but it was getting rare to hear discussion about it when the 2007 Witch Creek Fire hit. I think we were on course for having the 03 Cedar Fire forgotten about by 2010 had it not been for the 2007 fire. Now, we’ll have to wait until about 2014 for people to return to that ‘it can’t happen here’ mentality.

This has been a long-winded way of saying, if ppl can forget about things that happen on that scale, they won’t be giving an accidental flooding in your folk’s home much thought. Especially if they keep the house longer than 7 years. 🙂

It sounds to me like the contractor is doing your parents right. If I were you, I’d pony up for a mold test when the work is complete (it is a new house, there should have been ZERO mold when you bought it, right?) as mold tests are becoming more popular and that is the one thing that could bite you come time to sell.

It’s your parents choice on whether they choose to disclose it when they sell, of course, but if I saw something that said “toilet overflowed and flooded the house 10 years ago so we completely reconstructed the flooring, etc and did a mold test” on the transaction paperwork, I doubt I would give it much weight and would probably see it as a bonus that the sellers were so up front.

I’m with Raybyrnes, I’d forget the lawsuit.

[svelte]

There was a study once that showed that, after 7 years, most of the surrounding population thought that a disaster that had happened couldn’t happen again (or something like that). I have found that to be true in areas I have lived.

I lived in an area that flooded from an overflowing river. It was the talk of the town for 3-4 years and people even soemewhat avoided buying there for that period of time. But by about the 7th year, no one talked about it, people were buying without giving it any thought, and new construction was even happening in the previously flooded area.

Think about what has happened here in San Diego with the 2003 Cedar Fire. People talked about it for 3-4 years, people planned their purchases based on fire danger, but it was getting rare to hear discussion about it when the 2007 Witch Creek Fire hit. I think we were on course for having the 03 Cedar Fire forgotten about by 2010 had it not been for the 2007 fire. Now, we’ll have to wait until about 2014 for people to return to that ‘it can’t happen here’ mentality.

This has been a long-winded way of saying, if ppl can forget about things that happen on that scale, they won’t be giving an accidental flooding in your folk’s home much thought. Especially if they keep the house longer than 7 years. 🙂

It sounds to me like the contractor is doing your parents right. If I were you, I’d pony up for a mold test when the work is complete (it is a new house, there should have been ZERO mold when you bought it, right?) as mold tests are becoming more popular and that is the one thing that could bite you come time to sell.

It’s your parents choice on whether they choose to disclose it when they sell, of course, but if I saw something that said “toilet overflowed and flooded the house 10 years ago so we completely reconstructed the flooring, etc and did a mold test” on the transaction paperwork, I doubt I would give it much weight and would probably see it as a bonus that the sellers were so up front.

I’m with Raybyrnes, I’d forget the lawsuit.

[svelte]

There was a study once that showed that, after 7 years, most of the surrounding population thought that a disaster that had happened couldn’t happen again (or something like that). I have found that to be true in areas I have lived.

I lived in an area that flooded from an overflowing river. It was the talk of the town for 3-4 years and people even soemewhat avoided buying there for that period of time. But by about the 7th year, no one talked about it, people were buying without giving it any thought, and new construction was even happening in the previously flooded area.

Think about what has happened here in San Diego with the 2003 Cedar Fire. People talked about it for 3-4 years, people planned their purchases based on fire danger, but it was getting rare to hear discussion about it when the 2007 Witch Creek Fire hit. I think we were on course for having the 03 Cedar Fire forgotten about by 2010 had it not been for the 2007 fire. Now, we’ll have to wait until about 2014 for people to return to that ‘it can’t happen here’ mentality.

This has been a long-winded way of saying, if ppl can forget about things that happen on that scale, they won’t be giving an accidental flooding in your folk’s home much thought. Especially if they keep the house longer than 7 years. 🙂

It sounds to me like the contractor is doing your parents right. If I were you, I’d pony up for a mold test when the work is complete (it is a new house, there should have been ZERO mold when you bought it, right?) as mold tests are becoming more popular and that is the one thing that could bite you come time to sell.

It’s your parents choice on whether they choose to disclose it when they sell, of course, but if I saw something that said “toilet overflowed and flooded the house 10 years ago so we completely reconstructed the flooring, etc and did a mold test” on the transaction paperwork, I doubt I would give it much weight and would probably see it as a bonus that the sellers were so up front.

I’m with Raybyrnes, I’d forget the lawsuit.

[kewp]

I think you are very, very lucky the builder took responsibility.

[kewp]

I think you are very, very lucky the builder took responsibility.

[kewp]

I think you are very, very lucky the builder took responsibility.

[kewp]

I think you are very, very lucky the builder took responsibility.

[Author]

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