It Never Ceases To Amaze Me

[iwire]

Re: It Never Ceases To Amaze Me

Originally posted by celtic:
It would be the onus of the new buyer to perform due diligence.

In other words buyer beware.

Nothing wrong with that.

What I meant was if I bought a house that later burned, collapsed etc and I could prove it was caused by improper work done by the previous owner I do not see anything that would prohibit me from a civil suit.

That of course is just my untrained opinion.

 

[celtic]

Re: It Never Ceases To Amaze Me

Originally posted by iwire:

Originally posted by celtic:
It would be the onus of the new buyer to perform due diligence.

In other words buyer beware.

Not exactly ....caveat emptor implies "as is" status. You buy it, you're stuck with it.

Due diligence is a bit more indepth. Due diligence is a process where all details/issues/deficiences/etc are addressed PRIOR to purchase. The buyer, as well as the seller, has a duty to throughly investigate all aspects of the RE tansaction. This sort of scrutiny does not happen all that often in the case of a SFH/duplex purchase. Due diligence is usually reserved for investment (multi-family) properties...but that is not to say these same principles should not be applied to a SFH/duplex purchase.

Typically, a SFH/duplex purchase will have the "inspection" performed by an "uninterested" third party - a home inspector. Many people just hire whomever their REA suggests. That is, quite frankly, foolish. Your HI should be an HI of your chosing - one who meets your critera for performing an adequte inspection, not merely whomever is cheapest or whom ever is "suggested" (by a party who seeks to get the closing as quickly as possible in order to get a commission).

I was "foolish" a few times - but as I am in the "business", I could see the HI was a complete joke. For my last 2 RE purchases, when the REA discovered who I was using as an HI...well, let's just say the REA was not happy - the HI was a pro and not some clown who became an HI after watching too many infomercials.

For some real details on due diligence, read this article:
Performing your real estate due diligence

Originally posted by iwire:

What I meant was if I bought a house that later burned, collapsed etc and I could prove it was caused by improper work done by the previous owner I do not see anything that would prohibit me from a civil suit.

That of course is just my untrained opinion.


Your scenario is likely to be played out over here: Topic: Electrocution (by Mike03a3 posted February 23, 2006 01:48 PM )

 

[dlhoule]

Re: It Never Ceases To Amaze Me

Another example of why electrical supplies should not be sold to just anybody who wants to buy them.

Too bad the owner of the building at the time this "work" was done can't be prosecuted. Bet your butt you wouldn't see as much of this if the owner was afraid to sell his house because the next owner might discover the handiwork and turn him in.

-Hal

:twisted: Yod did that after you bought the house. :lol:

 

[tonyi]

Looks like it could have been in the new 8-story condo I just started working on in west palm beach... The place is full of cave man workmanship and flagrant violations.

 

[throttlebody]

I just have to share this:

I was covering an area for another absent inspector. Lucky him.

DIY basement today. The H.O was vietmanese and didn't speak English, except to tell me, "Me not English word."

I found a new 6/3 w/grnd coming out of the panel. I looked everywhere for a subpanel and couldn't find one. I was speechless throught tracing the circuit around the basement. I found Jboxes everywhere installed above the joist, next to the subfloor. Nail on Boxes supported by no nails, only 3" screws, existing GFCI receptacles and boxes covered behind the concrete wall insulation. Too much more to list. I also found (1) Panelfeeder to the bath GFCI receptacle. A wetbar area with a ref, dw, microwave, 60 rec, 40 recess/lights, 4CFs, 2 exhaust vents, several track lights hangwires throughout the basement, all on (1) 14/2 panelfeeder.

She couldn't understand me, so I shook my head and left a sticker in the window saying "Consult a Qualified Electrician" and pointed to it. Sometimes we laugh inside when finding creative wiring methods. I just wanted to cry for the H.O. Her son was doing the work to save her money. It was a $1.3M house. :?

People will pay thousands for a theater system to be installed, but when it comes to something that can be dangerous, they rather do it themselves.