Warrior General Games

Originally posted by glbisthewaytobe
re-sale value is terrible right now, I don't think that will improve much either. the only thing I like about them is the cost of building compared to a stick built. even after labor you're still saving roughly 10-15 grand, because of the lack of need for a foundation. I've also seen some really cool looking ones. it would also be nice to no longer have an electric bill since she wants one with the solar panels and wind turbine shit.

I would think about this a lot more. If no foundation, what are you going to put them on? You are gonna have toilets and showers right? Where is the plumbing going? It needs to be level and stable. Insulated...does it ever freeze where you live?

You will need batteries to store and regulate the power. It is a big investment, which is why it is not a great idea to tie it to a shipping container with no foundation.

Sooo still being a manchild and watching Pokemon. This one episode this dude comes on and starts talking and I crack up because its a money impersonation of GW Bush even though the episode came out before he was relevant.

So, unfortunately, I've found my way into a pickle with my home purchase.

We hired an inspector recommended to us by our real estate agent. They gave us a report on Jan 17. The only plumbing issue listed was a vague "water leak under crawlspace in middle of house". A week or two later (don't have the document with me when I type this) the seller got a professional plumber to fix the leak. They said that it was simply a washer that had to be replaced. They replaced it, problem solved. We went on and purchased the house Feb 17.

This past Sunday, Mar 16, we started having back-up issues with the plumbing which basically had all out-going water at a standstill. In other words, there's about 5% drainage for the entire house. I called a plumbing company who sent someone out that day. After he poked around and searched for the clog from the outside clean out, he found nothing. So, he crawled underneath the house, then came back up with bad news. "This plumbing should have never passed inspection. They used backwards fittings, it's plain as day. All of your pipes are sitting on the ground, they're angled the wrong way. There's no way the inspector crawled underneath the house and looked at it. You can see right away. They even tried to tie-in the A/C by just jamming it through the top of the PVC. That's illegal. That alone should have failed inspection. There's no way he looked at it." He suggested I call the inspector. It was a Sunday, so the job was too big for him to do alone.

I called the inspector and he asked to see the invoice of the repairs made on the house in January (the water leak). He then claimed that the water leak was a broken pipe that he had seen draining under the house. (It's not listed that way in the report.) After running all this through with the real estate agent, he called me back. He told me to get another plumber to come out and give a second opinion. At first, I told him, "Fuck you, I don't need a second opinion. You do. I'm not paying for someone to come out for you." Eventually, I gave in. I called a handful of plumbers in the area and none of them could promise me they would be able to make it within a week. My plumber (that told me about the issues) has us scheduled for repairs before the week is over. So, I called the inspector back and told him that.

Now, though, we're kinda stuck not knowing what to do. The house is becoming more unlivable each day. Thankfully, the wife and I are both employed, so we can use the restrooms at our jobs. At home, we can't use toilets, showers, sinks, dishwasher, clothes washer... nothing that requires draining. So, we need this fixed ASAP. The inspector gave us a 90-day warranty. We don't want to void that warranty by having it worked on before he's ready to accept responsibility. We may have to live in a hotel until this thing gets fixed.

We saved enough money from the sale of our previous house (and just savings in general) that we should have all the plumbing repairs covered no problem. We just would rather not have to pay for it if the inspector screwed us over with a shitty inspection. Obviously, it's still under warranty. I don't want to have to pay for hotels and repairs, then have him turn around and screw us over by saying the warranty got voided by having it repaired.

So, I'm not really sure what to do from here. I'll go seek the advice of a lawyer in the morning. I've never used one before, so I have no idea what I'm getting into... or even if I'll be able to find one who can see me today. (Apparently, everybody in this city is busy as fuck.)


Overall, the house is great. We really enjoy it and the neighborhood. We'd like to get the plumbing fixed and stay put. I just don't really know what to do from here.

Originally posted by johny_jordan
So, unfortunately, I've found my way into a pickle with my home purchase.

We hired an inspector recommended to us by our real estate agent. They gave us a report on Jan 17. The only plumbing issue listed was a vague "water leak under crawlspace in middle of house". A week or two later (don't have the document with me when I type this) the seller got a professional plumber to fix the leak. They said that it was simply a washer that had to be replaced. They replaced it, problem solved. We went on and purchased the house Feb 17.

This past Sunday, Mar 16, we started having back-up issues with the plumbing which basically had all out-going water at a standstill. In other words, there's about 5% drainage for the entire house. I called a plumbing company who sent someone out that day. After he poked around and searched for the clog from the outside clean out, he found nothing. So, he crawled underneath the house, then came back up with bad news. "This plumbing should have never passed inspection. They used backwards fittings, it's plain as day. All of your pipes are sitting on the ground, they're angled the wrong way. There's no way the inspector crawled underneath the house and looked at it. You can see right away. They even tried to tie-in the A/C by just jamming it through the top of the PVC. That's illegal. That alone should have failed inspection. There's no way he looked at it." He suggested I call the inspector. It was a Sunday, so the job was too big for him to do alone.

I called the inspector and he asked to see the invoice of the repairs made on the house in January (the water leak). He then claimed that the water leak was a broken pipe that he had seen draining under the house. (It's not listed that way in the report.) After running all this through with the real estate agent, he called me back. He told me to get another plumber to come out and give a second opinion. At first, I told him, "Fuck you, I don't need a second opinion. You do. I'm not paying for someone to come out for you." Eventually, I gave in. I called a handful of plumbers in the area and none of them could promise me they would be able to make it within a week. My plumber (that told me about the issues) has us scheduled for repairs before the week is over. So, I called the inspector back and told him that.

Now, though, we're kinda stuck not knowing what to do. The house is becoming more unlivable each day. Thankfully, the wife and I are both employed, so we can use the restrooms at our jobs. At home, we can't use toilets, showers, sinks, dishwasher, clothes washer... nothing that requires draining. So, we need this fixed ASAP. The inspector gave us a 90-day warranty. We don't want to void that warranty by having it worked on before he's ready to accept responsibility. We may have to live in a hotel until this thing gets fixed.

We saved enough money from the sale of our previous house (and just savings in general) that we should have all the plumbing repairs covered no problem. We just would rather not have to pay for it if the inspector screwed us over with a shitty inspection. Obviously, it's still under warranty. I don't want to have to pay for hotels and repairs, then have him turn around and screw us over by saying the warranty got voided by having it repaired.

So, I'm not really sure what to do from here. I'll go seek the advice of a lawyer in the morning. I've never used one before, so I have no idea what I'm getting into... or even if I'll be able to find one who can see me today. (Apparently, everybody in this city is busy as fuck.)


Overall, the house is great. We really enjoy it and the neighborhood. We'd like to get the plumbing fixed and stay put. I just don't really know what to do from here.

Call a lawyer, but likely the problem is yours. If the disclosure did not list the problem, you would have to prove the seller was aware of it to get anything from them. Most home inspections limit damages to the cost of the inspection, per their agreement. Was the water run during the inspection?

Seems odd that there is suddenly this kind of issue, and the sellers never had it, and it worked for the inspection.

Originally posted by foofighter24
Call a lawyer, but likely the problem is yours. If the disclosure did not list the problem, you would have to prove the seller was aware of it to get anything from them. Most home inspections limit damages to the cost of the inspection, per their agreement. Was the water run during the inspection?

Seems odd that there is suddenly this kind of issue, and the sellers never had it, and it worked for the inspection.

I never really thought about the seller, I was just thinking of the inspector paying us back what we paid him. It may not cover all the work, but would probably cover the bulk. We can swing it regardless...

The water was run during the inspection. We lived in the house for a month without problems. You bring up a good point, though. The house is only 7 years old, but it seems really odd that the previous owners wouldn't have run into these problems if the pipes really were that screwed up.


Just out of pure speculation... It could be that the sellers decided to get the house ready for sale and handled the plumbing themselves. And, since they weren't professional, they fucked shit up.


I don't know.

Actually, I know the previous owners had rented it out for a while. Maybe, while they were renting it, they did some unlicensed, landlord plumbing duties.

Originally posted by johny_jordan
I never really thought about the seller, I was just thinking of the inspector paying us back what we paid him. It may not cover all the work, but would probably cover the bulk. We can swing it regardless...

The water was run during the inspection. We lived in the house for a month without problems. You bring up a good point, though. The house is only 7 years old, but it seems really odd that the previous owners wouldn't have run into these problems if the pipes really were that screwed up.


Just out of pure speculation... It could be that the sellers decided to get the house ready for sale and handled the plumbing themselves. And, since they weren't professional, they fucked shit up.


I don't know.

If you press the issue, you should be able to easily recoup the cost of the inspection. Ask the real estate to follow up for you, as well. Because they made the referral, their voice means a lot in this, as the inspector will want to keep their business.

He may try to claim it is an "inaccessible area", but for the good of his business, it is really not worth pushing that. Also, when the plumbing comes out, ask the plumber to check to see if there have been any repairs made other than the one before you purchased. If yes, check with the municipality to see if permits were obtained, then check the seller's disclosure to see what it says. Both of the disclosures I regularly deal with have a question regarding this. If the disclosure is not accurate, the seller may be liable.

Originally posted by foofighter24
If you press the issue, you should be able to easily recoup the cost of the inspection. Ask the real estate to follow up for you, as well. Because they made the referral, their voice means a lot in this, as the inspector will want to keep their business.

He may try to claim it is an "inaccessible area", but for the good of his business, it is really not worth pushing that. Also, when the plumbing comes out, ask the plumber to check to see if there have been any repairs made other than the one before you purchased. If yes, check with the municipality to see if permits were obtained, then check the seller's disclosure to see what it says. Both of the disclosures I regularly deal with have a question regarding this. If the disclosure is not accurate, the seller may be liable.

it it was an 'inaccessible area', would't that have had to have been a notation regarding that in the inspection report?

Originally posted by seths99
it it was an 'inaccessible area', would't that have had to have been a notation regarding that in the inspection report?

Should be. They all have different reports and disclosures, though.

Lots of good info. Thanks.

With the estimated price of repairs and the cost of the inspection, I'm starting to feel like it may not be worth my time fighting. I'll go through with the motions until it gets repaired. Once I get the official bill, I'll make a decision. Sure, it would be nice to get the money for the inspection back, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't know if I want the stress fighting for it. I may just eat it. I love the house and I just want the plumbing to work.


It's the cost of being a homeowner. It's why you save money and don't max out your budget. It's the very thing I keep bitching to the democrats about in P&R.

Originally posted by johny_jordan
Lots of good info. Thanks.

With the estimated price of repairs and the cost of the inspection, I'm starting to feel like it may not be worth my time fighting. I'll go through with the motions until it gets repaired. Once I get the official bill, I'll make a decision. Sure, it would be nice to get the money for the inspection back, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't know if I want the stress fighting for it. I may just eat it. I love the house and I just want the plumbing to work.


It's the cost of being a homeowner. It's why you save money and don't max out your budget. It's the very thing I keep bitching to the democrats about in P&R.

septic system or tied into city sewer?

Originally posted by seths99
septic system or tied into city sewer?

City

The repairs aren't costly enough to go to court and chase after the sellers or anything like that. And, though the refund on the inspection would be a nice help, it's not worth going to court over if the inspector doesn't want to honor the warranty.

Basically, I'll send him the bill/itemized invoice with the plumber's statement and ask for him to honor the warranty. If he doesn't, I'll just drop it.

Also not worth the hassle of documenting everything to build up a case.

Originally posted by johny_jordan
Lots of good info. Thanks.

With the estimated price of repairs and the cost of the inspection, I'm starting to feel like it may not be worth my time fighting. I'll go through with the motions until it gets repaired. Once I get the official bill, I'll make a decision. Sure, it would be nice to get the money for the inspection back, but in the grand scheme of things, I don't know if I want the stress fighting for it. I may just eat it. I love the house and I just want the plumbing to work.


It's the cost of being a homeowner. It's why you save money and don't max out your budget. It's the very thing I keep bitching to the democrats about in P&R.

Inspections run about $400 around here. What I do for things like that is give it a set amount of time. I would wager an hours worth of work ends up getting you that money refunded.

When the plumber is out, just try to learn a little more about it and then decide for yourself if it is something the inspector really should have noted, with the knowledge that the drains were apparently draining at the time of the inspection. When you hire a home inspector, it is perfectly reasonable to expect that he have more knowledge about the various systems than the layman, but unrealistic to think he is going to have the knowledge of a specialist.