Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

open permit on house

we are closing on a house. The title search revealed an open permit (11 years old--we bought the house 8 years ago)for a flat roof. Roofing company is out of business and they failed all inspections. City is telling us there is no way to fix it because work has been covered up. So we must pay for a new roof. Title insurance company states they are not liable. We are attempting to contact closing lawyer that was used because they should have found this open permit. They are giving us the run around. Are they liable???


Asked on 9/21/07, 9:55 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
David Slater David P. Slater, Esq.

Re: open permit on house

Depending upon your policy, I would think so.

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Answered on 9/22/07, 11:38 am
Scott J. Wortman Pineiro, Wortman & Byrd, P.A.

Re: open permit on house

Neither the closing attorney nor the title insurance company are responsible for verifying the status of any open permits. Those open permits are not filed like liens and are not discoverable through a normal title search. The Seller of the property would perhaps be liable for knowingly selling you a house with an open permit and uninspected improvement. Should you require formal legal representation for this matter, please contact me to discuss the nature of such representation and the costs of same. Thank you.

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Answered on 9/28/07, 11:16 am


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