Yes, we did know about the valleys and flashing work - both our inspector and the comment from the city inspector on the open permint concurred on that and those repairs would have cost us ~ $300. We did NOT know that the roof was put on wrong or about the mold/mildew on the joist and boards, this was discovered AFTER closing when we got a roofer to give us a quote on the valley and flashing work (the attic had been nailed shut so our inspector couldn’t get up there).
We just closed on a home in Illinois 7/25/05. The day before closing we received a notice from the city that there was an open permit for the roof - it stated the valleys and flashing needed to be completed (sellers disclosure stated no known defects to the roof and our inspector already alerted us to the valleys and flashing). Since the city and the inspector agreed on what needed to be done to the roof, we signed off on it saying we’d “close” the permit. We had a roofer out to look at it last week and he said the entire roof was put on wrong, isn’t vented at all, and has started to cause damage to the joists and underlying boards. He recommends a complete tear-off and re-shingle at the cost of $14,000. We are going to get more quotes, but do we have any recourse against the sellers? We also noticed water spots on the ceiling in the foyer.
Re: roof repair for newly purch home - Posted by Natalie-VA
Posted by Natalie-VA on August 19, 2005 at 17:34:03:
Pat,
I would definitely get more opinions on that roof. I wouldn’t tell the roofers the history; just see what they say.
You’ve already had the city and your inspector agree that it just needed some minor repairs. It is possible that the roofer who looked at it is low on work and is trying to create alarm.
Re: roof repair for newly purch home - Posted by River City
Posted by River City on August 19, 2005 at 06:15:08:
It sounds to me like you had notice that there was a problem with the roof and you decided to close anyway. However, the seller knew about it and did not include it in their disclosure. Wow, this is a toughie for me. My first take would be that since you knew about it before closing and closed anyway that you accepted the roof problems. You could have renegotiated before closing, but you chose not to. But, since I am just a deputy dog and not a legal eye, this is just my humble opinion. Maybe one of the prominent attorneys can give you a legal view.