If I renovate my house only to find significant fire damage, do I have to disclose this when i sell? More...?

Question

I just bought a house 2 weeks ago. While I was in the process of ripping down the walls to do some upgrades, I found much of the wood has been charred and some beams have been sistered (some have not)

The seller never disclosed to us that there was ever a fire in the house.

the house is 97years old, so it could have happened before her.

HOWEVER - the house has brand new windows, and the old molding from the house was saved, and reinstalled.

This means, the owner before us SAW the fire damage even if she didnt cause it.

1. If we can prove it happened while she lived there - do we have any recourse?

2. If we can prove it happned before she lived there, but she definitly KNEW about the fire damage, do we have any recourse?

Answer 1

Do you have to disclose it if you sell it and you know about it..Yes.

Can you sue the seller...most likley not...as the buyer you had the right to hire an independent inspector who would have/should have found the fire damage and disclosed it to you. If you did hire one and they did not, you have recourse against that inspector.

If the person you bought it from sold it in good faith (depending on how long she owned it before you purchased it and the laws pertaining to inspection at that time) and did not know about any fire damage, she would not be liable.

Answer 2

Yes, you do have recourse. A lady friend of mine had the same thing happen...the house wasn't 97 years old is the only difference.
You said that new windows had been installed.....take down the drywall around those windows and take lots of pics! If you can show that the previous owner installed the windows, then they have violated the law about disclosure.
Also, go to your local fire dept that would service your neighborhood. They keep records, they just might have details of when the fire was and you can go from there.
Check the deed section of the courthouse, find previous owners, try and find the closing documents about disclosure from one sale to another.
It took awhile,and lots of time with attorneys, but this friend of mine was finally able to win and the guy that sold the house had to pay over 200K for home repairs and legal costs.