Somethings really should be criminal that aren't.

[Bibliophile 0]

Hello, everybody.

I am in the process of buying a house, and I have spent the past several months househunting. A while back, I saw one house, a foreclosure, that I was very interested in buying. It was a two story house, with a full, finished basement. When I walked through it, I noticed that the main floor and the upstairs had some dirty carpets, and some of the walls needed to be repainted. However, the basement had brand new carpet, and the walls had been freshly repainted.

I entered into negotiations with the seller (the bank that had foreclosed), and we reached an oral argument on the price and terms. The night before we were to finalize everything in writing and sign a contract on it, I went back through the house to make a final look. Less than three weeks had elapsed since I had last seen it.

However, this time it was very different. The main floor and upstairs were in the same condition, but as soon as I opened the door to walk down the basement stairs, I noticed an unusual smell. In the basement, I found that the carpet (which was brand new) was covered all over with huge splotches of whitish-looking mold, and the walls and ceiling (which were freshly painted last time I walked through) were covered with black mold. Some walls were covered with black mold on both sides, meaning it was most likely inside the walls itself, not just on the surface. It was literally like something out of a Creepshow movie.

I left the house, and never went back, and sure enough, I cancelled the deal. For whatever reason, the house was taken off the market.

It dawned on me what had happened: This house had a huge mold problem in the basement, which is also a severe health hazard. For the mold to have appeared in the basement in such great amounts and over such a short period of time (under three weeks), it had to be widely spread out in or above the foundation. The bank put new carpet and repainted the walls in the basement apparently to try to cover up the mold long enough for some unsuspecting buyer to buy the house and take the problem off the bank’s hands.

Last week, I was doing an internet search, and I found that that the house was back on the market. Out of curiosity, I called the seller’s agent to ask what the story was. He told me the bank replaced the carpet in the basement and repainted the walls in the basement (what they apparently tried the first time unsuccessfully). Now they are listing it again, once again, trying to get some unsuspecting buyer to buy the house and take the problem off the bank’s hands.

I know I won’t buy this house, but I hope that some buyer doesn’t buy it, not knowing that it has a hidden, severe mold problem. I hope the mold reappears quickly enough that no one can close on it.

However, it irks me what this bank is trying to do: cover the mold on the surface, long enough to pass it onto someone else. Once someone closes on it, the bank can wash their hands of it, and say “oh gee, too bad, not our problem,” and the buyer will have no recourse. This kind of lowlife, dishonest behavior should be illegal. And I don't just mind grounds for a civil suit; the asset manager for this house should be criminally liable. Heck, they should imprison him or her in this house; that would be a just punishment.

What would you do in this situation?

"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who
can do nothing for him."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[shropshire 0]

Before buying a house, I'd always have a full structural survey, which would have picked up the damp problem.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[skydiverbry 0]

Agreed!

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Growing old is mandatory.Growing up is optional!!

D.S.#13(Dudeist Skdiver)

[mrwrong 0]

You can't be serious!!!

This is legal in the US??????
FFS.... If a seller would do this in Sweden he'll end up in court and lose BIG time!!

“The sum of intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.” - George Bernard Shaw
He who dies with the most toys, wins.....
dudeist skydiver # 19515
Buy quality and cry once!

[towerrat 0]

In general lenders will not release funds for any property without a licensed inspector doing a complete inspection. It covers your ass as well as the lender. No lender wants you default on a loan, especially for something that they could have avoided. It's well worth the few hundred dollars you'll spend and most banks require it. On another note, it's not always wise to go with the inspector that the realtor recommends as you'll often find that "one hand washes the other" Find yourself a trustworthy third party and remember the money you spend could save you thousands in the long term.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!

[Bibliophile 0]

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In general lenders will not release funds for any property without a licensed inspector doing a complete inspection. It covers your ass as well as the lender. No lender wants you default on a loan, especially for something that they could have avoided. It's well worth the few hundred dollars you'll spend and most banks require it. On another note, it's not always wise to go with the inspector that the realtor recommends as you'll often find that "one hand washes the other" Find yourself a trustworthy third party and remember the money you spend could save you thousands in the long term.

I would never buy a house without doing a home inspection anyway. I walked away from one deal that on its surface was a great deal, but the seller only agreed to sell it to me if I took it "AS IS" without any due diligence period. I took that as a red flag that there was something seriously wrong with it.

However, my point above isn't that a buyer shouldn't have to do a home inspection. All buyers should do one before buying a home.

My complaint is that this particular bank is trying to cover up the mold problem just long enough to pass it onto someone else.

And the reality is that not all home inspectors do a thorough job, and it is possible to miss something that has been intentionally covered up.

"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who
can do nothing for him."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

[DJL 235]

The second you said that the basement had fresh carpets and paint I knew it would be a moisture/mold issue. I doubt they'll be able to sell it since something like that will hold them liable even in a completed sale. They'll have to suck it up and take care of the moisture issue.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

In Wisconsin, all known problems must be disclosed. Failing to do so opens up some serious liability issues. The seller can be held responsible for the cost of resolving the defects. It can also be a potential fraud case.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[Andy9o8 2]

Thank God you backed out of the deal before going to closing.
All states have Attorney General's offices, and most (if not all) of them have consumer fraud/protection divisions. If you're concerned that this bank is trying to fraudulently pass on a defective property to an unsuspecting buyer, reporting it to the state AG's office - impressing upon them the time-urgency of the situation - is a good way to deal with it.

As an aside, I strongly feel that unless you are a very, very sophisticated buyer, all home-buyers should get an attorney involved in the purchase of a house. I can't tell you how many residential and commercial property buyers I have saved from monumental headaches (and litigation) by being involved in their transaction pre-closing, as well as how many home-buyers I have seen need to get involved in frustrating, expensive (and sometimes unsuccessful) litigation because they failed to be represented by an attorney when they bought a property. It's a hell of a lot easier to back out of a purchase before closing than it is to try to get compensated after the deal is done. Trust me, hiring a lawyer at the very beginning of a real estate transaction, and all through closing, especially if you're the buyer, is well worth every penny of the cost.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

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You can't be serious!!!

This is legal in the US??????
FFS.... If a seller would do this in Sweden he'll end up in court and lose BIG time!!

No,this is not legal in the US. They would still be liable even after the closing.

[BillyVance 35]

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In general lenders will not release funds for any property without a licensed inspector doing a complete inspection. It covers your ass as well as the lender. No lender wants you default on a loan, especially for something that they could have avoided. It's well worth the few hundred dollars you'll spend and most banks require it. On another note, it's not always wise to go with the inspector that the realtor recommends as you'll often find that "one hand washes the other" Find yourself a trustworthy third party and remember the money you spend could save you thousands in the long term.

I would never buy a house without doing a home inspection anyway. I walked away from one deal that on its surface was a great deal, but the seller only agreed to sell it to me if I took it "AS IS" without any due diligence period. I took that as a red flag that there was something seriously wrong with it.

However, my point above isn't that a buyer shouldn't have to do a home inspection. All buyers should do one before buying a home.

My complaint is that this particular bank is trying to cover up the mold problem just long enough to pass it onto someone else.

And the reality is that not all home inspectors do a thorough job, and it is possible to miss something that has been intentionally covered up.

Yes. It happened to me. Luckily it wasn't an interior problem, but rather where the roof abuts the chimney on an outside wall. It leaked every time it rained, and I suspect that the previous owner replaced the ceiling over the open air patio to hide it because it would have cost a lot more to redo the roof. Alas, the problem didn't emerge until more than a year later. It has been dealt with.

Another thing that the inspector missed was water damage under the kitchen floor from a leak under the kitchen sink. The previous owner installed a new vinyl tile floor for the kitchen, dining and foyer spaces rather than deal with the problem. We didn't find out until 4 or 5 years later, and when we found out we were going to have our first baby, it was decided to strip out the entire kitchen and start anew.

"Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban

[JohnMitchell 16]

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Another thing that the inspector missed was water damage under the kitchen floor from a leak under the kitchen sink.

When fixing the leak would have been relatively simple. Been through that too.