Bought a new home yesterday - welcome to hell

[Ganzo]

So we finally had a closing on our new house last night after it being delayed twice. We take the keys drive over there, walk in and all I could say was WTF. I think the only way I can describe what I saw was a tropical rainstorm in most of the first floor of our new house. All of the recessed lighting fixtures looked like shower heads, the cedar plank ceiling in the kitchen and dining room was literally raining as the water was coming through between each plank; kitchen cabinets looked like rocky waterfalls.

To back it up, at the start of last week, my mortgage company wanted get their appraiser to inspect the heating and water in the house because he couldn’t do it originally since the house was winterized(water and gas shut off, pipes blown out). So the appraiser requested the seller to send a plumber and de-winterize the house. They sent someone who turned the water back on, and turned on the furnace in the attic. What he didn’t do is turn the furnace on the first floor back on and this house has separate heating/cooling for each floor. Since there was no heat on the first floor and it’s been below 20 for last few nights, the water pipes froze and burst flooding the house. What makes this worse is I was in the house on Saturday morning to walk through with my contractor and make a list of renovations he was going to start doing today, and noticed how cold it was on the first floor. I called the realtor and said that the furnace was still sealed off with winterizing signs and zip ties on all the switches, and told her that the pipes would freeze. After that they spent 3 days trying to figure out who would be coming back to turn on the furnace and I couldn’t even bring in space heaters since it was still not my house. In the end no one came out so the pipes froze and burst, flooding the house.

I called the insurance and they have a recovery crew there right now, tearing down walls, floor and ceiling so that the structure inspection could be done and they can check if the whole house might need to be torn down. At the very least I will need new kitchen, dinging, bathroom, laundry, hallway and foyer, probably more than that.

Welcome to a new home

Some pictures:

[Zanchief]

This could be a good thing if a) you're not on the hook, and b) you're not in a hurry to move in.

Those renos you were planning may not cost you anything now!

I'm sure it's frustrating though.

[Spazz]

What city you in now ganz ? Also thats a lot of shit to deal with right off the get go.

[Ganzo]

What city you in now ganz ? Also thats a lot of shit to deal with right off the get go.

I'm in Walled Lake around 14 Mile Rd and Decker Rd, house is 8th from the shore of the Walled Lake with docking privileges(main reason I bought it).

[Menelvir]

Oh, man. That's a nightmare -- I hope it gets resolved for you as quickly as possible.

[Spazz]

I dont think I have been out that way in a long time. Was just wonderin where this nightmare was takin place.

[Ganzo]

Well it's all gutted to studs now and inspector came through and said that there is no structural damage to foundation or frame, so it shouldn't be a massive job, but on the bright side I'll be getting new kitchen and bathroom remodel for free.

[brinstar]

yikes what a hassle, glad some good is coming of it though

also congrats on the new pad

[Drem]

Pretty sweet deal tho, in the end, w/ the free remodels

Congrats!

[Ganzo]

So an update on this nightmare.

Weren't all flowers and free shit like I was hoping. Had a huge fight with my insurance who did not want to pay. Had to hire a lawyer and finally they gave me $35000. Once the work started, we found so many other issues that insurance refused to cover because they are "preexisting conditions" like mold, rotted floor joists, plumbing and electrical not up to code etc... Ended up spending over $55000 total to get everything done so I'm 20G out of pocket on this and that is with me doing all of the flooring and tile work myself so i saved about 8K.

If you have Allstate for your homeowners, switch now.

On a happier note we are almost done. Painting should be done next week and we will be moving next weekend. Wont have kitchen cabinets until April though, so I'll be living off carry out for a few weeks.

[Tikker]

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[Kramer]

dang - that's rough and glad it's close to over

[Tikker]

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[Gypsiyee]

Ganzo.. how did the house even pass inspection to close? I'd be banging down that inspector's door so fast..

[Ganzo]

Ganzo.. how did the house even pass inspection to close? I'd be banging down that inspector's door so fast..

Why wouldn't it pass inspection. There was nothing wrong that was visible. Inspection was in late September, we closed in November so between inspection and closing pipes froze. Not inspector's fault that the bank was not winterizing properly. Other crap we found was inside walls/floor, no way for inspector to see.

Anyhow we are all done now, moved 3 weeks ago. Basically have all new electrical, pluming and heating/cooling throughout the house, new floor joists and sub-floor throughout first floor, new hardwood floors throughout the house new walls, ceilings on first floor. New bathroom and kitchen so really nothing to complain about other than spending a shit ton of my own time/effort and money. I was my own General Contractor, and did most of rough framing and all of flooring myself, had my friend(kitchen contractor) do kitchen and bathroom, hired some Mexicans to do my drywall and mudding and paint, had another friend of mine(master plumber) do my plumbing and hvac. Only big expense was electrician and materials. On the positive side I now basically have a rand new house.

[leah]

sounds like a dream home once you get past the initial punch to the gut. congrats!