Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Pennsylvania

Defect in construction-Who is responsible for the $$ to repair?

We purchased our home less than 2 years ago. Soon after moving in found out that a large addition is falling away from the main house. The rough details include:1. -SE firm says the building has no foundation (just gravel & beam) - SE firms says the building has been separating since before we took ownership -our home inspector is no longer in the business and didn't carry 'errors and omissions' insurance at the time -the original owner (as we understand) was the builder -we did not purchase from the original owner, there was one in between -the township says no building permit can be found -the sellers appraisal stated the building had 100% slab foundation (in fact is has 0%) -this 'problem' was never noted on any sellers disclosure -insurance co says they won't cover it

A couple of questions?1. Would this be better served by a Real Estate, Trial, Insurance, or Other Attorney?

2. Is there any precedence for this type of case in which the owners successfully retrieved $$ from either the realtor or the insurance co? (or any one else I may have missed)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks


Asked on 6/13/00, 1:38 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Murray Eckell Eckell,Sparks,Levy, Auerbach,Monte,Rainer,&Sloane

Re: Defect in construction-Who is responsible for the $$ to repair?

This is definitely a case for a trial lawyer who has access to lawyers with real estate expertise. There are several defendants to pursue including your own insurance company. However, a detailed ananlysis of all the facts must first be made in order to identify the causes of actions. Our firm has handled this type of case on many occasions

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Answered on 8/01/00, 9:51 am


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