Just moved in and found a problem...?

Question

We just moved into our first house, and we've been here almost 3 months. Last week we discovered the floor around the toilet is rotted. Will any kind of insurance cover this, or simply a case of buyer beware? We had the home inspected previous to the purchase and the inspector did not catch it, apparently. Thanks for reading.

Answer 1

If you had a whole house inspection and the inspector didn't catch it, you could try to litigate this. But most likely the inspector's insurance company will argue this was a hidden defect or a recent problem, and you will be out alot of aggravation for nothing. The onus of responsibility will be on you to prove this problem existed when you purchased the home.

Be careful filing a home owner's claim for water damage. I have heard that if you file a claim for water damage, some insurance companies will not insure the house and it may cause you trouble and higher premiums finding home owner's insurance.

Hopefully that is the only water damage, and if it is, it should be relatively inexpensive to fix.

Answer 2

First off, what kind of inspection did you have done? What did the inspector's contract say that they would and would not do? Dis the inspector go under the house?

If you had a "Whole House Inspection" done, the inspector could be liable for the cost of the repairs. A rotten bathroom floor is something that should have been caught. Contact your agent (if you had one) and ask for their help. In most states, you have up to one year from the close of escrow to come back and complain/ask for damages/remedies in regards to the house/inspection/seller's omissions.

Depending on the exact circumstances, you may want to get the inspector's insurance to pay, or go after the sellers, or say the heck with it and absorb the cost yourself

Answer 3

You may be able to obtain some compensation from the E&O insurer for the inspector who missed the problem. I suggest you contact him and explain what you have found.

Other than that, you're on your own. Your own insurance will not cover this sort of situation.

Answer 4

if your inspector didnt catch it i wouldnt use him again they should of checked all the plumbing and floor rot around the toilet idicates a leak somewhere i dont think your insurance will cover it it really is buyer beware

Answer 5

Your home inspector should have caught it, but as it was a hidden defect, he has no liability.
Fortunately, this isnt that expensive of a job, and not that hard to fix. You can replace the subfloor easily and inexpensively, and reuse the existing toilet, if it doesnt leak. (Thefloor may be rotted due to a bad seal.)
Go to Home Depot, or Lowes, andthey can tell you how to do it.

Answer 6

Not an easy thing to catch, and not an easy thing to prove that it was there at the time, and did not happen post purchase. One of those things of home purchase is that things go wrong, and things breakdown Better off just fixing it yourself, it is not an expensive, nor hard project. Good luck in the new house, hope any other problems you face are minor

Answer 7

If the insurance inspector didn't catch it than it should be covered by insurance. But your deductible might be more than the actual repairs.

Answer 8

It isn't anything that the insurance would cover unless it is water damage and since there wasn't a flood when you were there, I doubt that you could get them to pay for it. You could always ask your insurance company about it.

Answer 9

if the house your n is rented call who your renting it from if youve bought it idk