Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Ohio
Purchased home with supposedly a good roof.
Approximately 6 months ago I purchased a home that was ''For Sale By Owner''. Upon inspecting the house we noticed it was in good condition with the exception of discoloing and coloring of some shingles on the roof. When I asked the owner the age of the roof he provided a letter from a roofer dated April 13, 1999 and stated that despite the curling of some shingles, that he expected the life expectancy of the roof to be 8 -12 more years.
This past week a contractor who installed a fireplace chimney told us we should replace the roof fairly soon as numerous shingle are deteriorated, cracked and curling. We had another roofer come out for an inspection and told us the same thing.
Do we have any recourse against the previous owner who sold us the house? I bought the house thinking I had at least seven years to save enough money to replace the roof and now it isn't so.
Thank you for your assistance.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Purchased home with supposedly a good roof.
Ohio generally follows the rule of "let the buyer beware." You are responsible for conducting a thorough inspection of the property you purchased. To succeed on your claim, you would have to show that the seller knew that the roof was bad and that his act of presenting the roofer's letter was an intentional act meant to mislead you. On the other hand, there are plenty of bad roofers out there. If the guy who wrote the letter was simply wrong, and it was not a conspiracy to defraud you, then your claim will not go very far. As you can see by the differences in opinion on this question, these matters are highly fact specific. You would be well advised to have a personal consultation with an attorney to discuss the particulars of your situation.
Re: Purchased home with supposedly a good roof.
You have a good claim, provided you still have the Ohio Real Estate Disclosure Form signed by the Seller(s). This will be necessary to prove the representations of the seller as to the condition of the roof, along with any other elements of the property. Misrepresentation and fraudulent inducement are actionable against sellers in Ohio, and other states as well. Consult an experienced construction attorney, without delay, since there is a statute of limitations within which (time) claims must be brought or they will become forever barred. Good luck. J. Norman Stark, Attorney,Cleveland, Ohio.
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