re: OT Lawyers, do I have any recourse with plumbing issue in new home purchase?

I am certain that there is a lot of well intentioned advice in this thread, but do yourself a favor and save yourself some time - hire an attorney in the state in which the home is located to give you advice. Do not take advice from a real estate agent (unless he/she in also a licensed lawyer in the state) other than to retain an attorney.

From my realtor:

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Alabama is a caveat emptor state which means buyer beware which is why we put such a big emphasis to on The inspection due diligence. Right after a property goes under contract. That means essentially we are a non-disclosure state. Seller cannot be held liable.

I will say if they paid a licensed home inspector to inspect the property they could be held responsible if there were something there and they didn’t find it

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Do what above me said, get someone that knows the law.

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We also found out that the previous owners knew about this problem because the wall where the pipe is had been freshly painted along with a new baseboard attachment.

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This is gonna be TLDR for most of you, but it’ll definitely help the OP.

I do water/fire/bio restoration work, and I have for about 15 yrs. You probably have a case, but it’ll be a PITA to prove anything IMO. Easiest way, just file a HO claim and they will subrogate if they find another party was at fault. It’s a “sudden or incidental water loss from internal plumbing system”. 99.999 percent covered. Plumber could’ve messed up, previous HO could have just covered up the problem intentionally, or It could also be a faulty pipe, (HO insurance can/will go after anyone the see is responsible). You can’t blame the inspector, the always say he “can’t see bad pipes in walls or down in concrete slabs. Letting them handle it will take a year plus, but they’ll do all the legal work. They may/may not rate your policy, generally they won’t touch a brand new policy. This happens all the time when people first move in.. Generally, you’re insurance carrier won’t touch you for one claim in 12 months, especially if they are going to subrogate.

Benefit of filing a claim, you limit your financial exposure to the deductible. They will have a vendor or you can choose a mitigation company. They will get it all dry and treated and the insurance can recommend or you can look for a contractor to put it back. If everything comes back and it’s not gonna be much more than your deductible, you can always cancel claim too.

Regarding your fix if you’re gonna DIY..
The wall was probably painted to cover up a patch from a repair or they literally just sealed/painted over some mold on that wall from a previous leak that wasn’t mitigated correctly. I see ALL the time. Cheaper for them to cover it and sell the house than to fix it right.

At this point, I’d suggest you immediately pull the carpet pad out and then lay the carpet back flat. Don’t lift an edge (float) and stick a fan under it, it can warp/stretch the carpet. You’ll never dry the pad and it’ll start stinking and cause the carpet backing to delaminate, aka ruin the carpet. It’s like $.50 per sqft.

Regarding the wall, the wall is already damaged and you know you’re have to repair the drywall. So, just go ahead and cut a large section (4 foot wide at least) out and inspect the back of the drywall and look at any wood behind it. Pull any wet insulation, (assuming there is some in the wall). The exposed, unpainted paper on back of drywall and the wood have exposed/unsealed cellulose fibers. Drywall is cheap, money is in the labor. A 2x2 patch and a 4x8 sheet are basically the same to install. Fix it right now and make your drywall guys life easier, measure 4ft 1/2inch of the floor, draw a line and cut it straight. It’ll save you labor with the installers.

Where does mold grow? When you mix cellulose fibers, dark area with little air circulation, and high moisture levels you have the perfect mixture for mold.

Treat everything inside the wall with an antimocrobial, NOT bleach. NEVER put bleach on mold! You may not see it, but it’s making your problem much worse. If/when you find mold on the back of the drywall, make sure you keep tearing it out 18-24 inches past the mold I. Good drywall. Now, THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP, you’ve gotta get the structure dry. Don’t cover up moisture and seal it in a wall cavity. Make sure it’s dry, below 20 percent humidity before you put all of the wall back.

If you’re not gonna file a claim, you can probably rent a dehu from sunbelt near you for $30/day, since there aren’t any major storms/disasters right now, prices fluctuate a lot when demand skyrockets. Just leave a dehu and a fan running 24/7 in that room for 3-5 days. You’re not gonna dry it out too much.

Good luck!

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No waiver you can sign will cover intentional wrongful acts.

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True, but it’s hard to prove on things like this. Unless they just flat out confess.

I had a homeowner who had a major sewage backup 2 weeks after buying a house. Come to find out, entire main line had to be replaced from house to the street. When he realized he was on the hook for it because he couldn’t prove previous owners knew about the pipe underground, he started getting estimates.. $12-15k on 4 different estimates.

BUT, one of the plumbers made a comment about how he’d given the previous owner a bid for this work so it was gonna be the quickest/easiest estimate ever. He said all he had to do was change the name because the problem hadn’t changed.

New homeowner obtained that estimate given to the original homeowner and it was 2 months before closing. They didn’t disclose these issues. The previous owners almost got away with it, but the new homeowner got lucky that plumber disclosed his dealings with the priors and provided a copy of the quote. Needless to say, the previous owners immediately admitted fault and agreed and paid the full bill if they didn’t pursue legal action.

They also paid for all of the mitigation and repairs that were needed inside the home after the sewage backup. Total was about $34k.

Inspectors aren’t going to document on items unseen or behind walls, they aren’t going to open walls etc to inspect items - so unless the pipe was leaking or there was evidence of leak they will unfortunately not mention it. However, if there was evidence of water damage or attempt of previous repair gone wrong then they should mention this.
I hope this helps.

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Everyone hates lawyers....until they need one

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I hate lawyers when I need them also

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Insurance probably claimed “improper install and/or engineering flaw”, which are generally always excluded.

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However, depending on the policy you have, if the ensuing loss is covered insurance still may cover the damages from that, just not what was improperly installed.

Ex, if a window was installed incorrectly on your second floor and when the wind blows a certain direction during rain the window leaks. If your policy will cover damages from wind driven rain, the water damages would still be covered, but insurance won’t pay to replace the window.

I am of the opinion that anyone buying a home should have an inspection with a thermal camera.