Legal Question in Insurance Law in Ohio

Home buying/insurance fraud

During the general inspection of the home my wife and I are buying it was discovered that house has hail damage. The former owners foreclosed on the property and appears they cashed the insurance check and never had the roof or siding repaired or replaced. The bank that owns the house is unwilling to pay the damages as it was not a ''lender agreement'' in the first place. Do I have any recourse? Also the general inspection was unable to be completed because the furnace did not work and the bank is unwilling to fix this either. Since the inspection has not been completed could I just walk away? Finally, my wife and I signed a closing extension/addendum that the bank never signed. The extension was due to waiting on their decision on the furnace and hail damage. In the contract it states that if we go past the closing date that I have to pay x amount if the delay is my fault and the bank has to pay x amount if it is their fault. By not signing the extension are they defaulting on this?

Thank you.


Asked on 2/18/09, 4:12 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
David Weilbacher, Esq. Attorney at Law

Re: Home buying/insurance fraud

Your agreement to purchase the property should have been conditioned upon the inspection. You do not have any recourse against the prior owner for the hail damage. The prior owner had no obligation to you to use the insurance proceeds to repair the property. The bank may be in default, but without reviewing the documentation, I would only be speculating.

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Answered on 2/18/09, 4:44 pm


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