I bought a house in late February of this year. When my wife and I first visited the house (and every visit after) we noticed that the downstairs lights flickered. Besides this problem we loved the house, so we made an offer, knowing that anything wrong would most likely show up in the inspection.

During the inspection the inspector noticed the problem and noted that a licensed electrician needed to investigate and repair.

During the final walkthrough we tested and retested the lights to see if there was flickering --- no problems! The problem was fixed and we were ready to move in.

Then....in April we noticed the same problem that happened downstairs was now happening upstairs. Over the last couple months the problem has worsened. I finally had an uncle (master electrician for 25+ years) look at the problem. He checked out the breaker box and his eyes about came out of his head. He said the whole system was shot. All the breakers were corroded, and all the wires going into the box were bad. He stated that it should never of passed inspection. He also said that it is a great fire hazard in the condition it is in. The next day I had 2 more licensed electricians look at the problem. Not knowing my uncle, or what he said, they almost repeated word for word what my uncle had said.

So I found the receipt from the repair bill that the sellers provided at closing. Come to find out the "licensed electrician" (really a general contractor) only replaced the breaker from the downstairs circuit. This was basically a quick fix for a much deeper problem. Upon further investigation I found out that this general contractor was not even licensed. He used a license number on his invoice and the side of his truck, but according to the state board of GC, he hasn't had a license since 1993!

I have been in contact with my agent that I bought the house from. He has been useful to a point, but says he can't really do much.

I also contacted the general contractor. Not 30 seconds into the conversation he started saying that the inspector was liable, not him. He said the inspection report said to replace the breaker, and that's what he did. But that's not what it says, it says "Have licensed electrician investigate and repair the problem". Anyway, he got very defensive and hung up on me. Now I'm trying to contact the closing lawyer, but they have yet to return my phone calls for 4 days.

I contacted the NC General Contractors Licensee Board and filed a formal complaint on the general contractor. Another interesting fact...I just found that the general contractor was hired by the listing agent. I feel like I'm at a crossroads now. I don't know who to take to court, or if I even need to go to court. I think everyone, including the sellers have some part in this problem.

I cannot afford to have this problem fixed. Nor do I feel I should have to pay a dime.

Any suggestions? I'm stuck!

Thanks,
Merle

I have a question. It sounds as if you relied on the sellers to get a licensed electrician to look at the problem noted by your inspector. Is that correct? If they did not, maybe you have some recourse, because obviously the unlicensed general contractor was not qualified to find the real problems. But I can't say this with absolute certainty. Perhaps your county real estate association can shed some light on this. (no pun intended). Or maybe one of the good folks here have a better answer.

Good luck.

The seller/listing agent did hire the general contractor to do the work. I did not hire the person because:

1) The sellers paid for the work, and at the time it was still their house

and

2) Being to new to the area I did not know of anyone that I could trust that would do the work correctly--so I had no one to recommend.


I guess my mistake was trusting the listing agent who said that she "swore" by this man's work.

Even if I made the mistake of trusting someones word, I still think that I have strong case here...any other suggestions?

1) Did you purchase a Home Warrenty Policy. These usually cover items the first year that you own the property.

2) If the sellers new about the problenm beforehand & did not disclose it.....There is a problem.

3) Did you sign an arbitration caluse? Arbitration is less expensive than going to court.

Good Luck!!!

After repairs were made, was another inspection done to make sure they were done correctly?

-J

I personally think liability will fall onto the so called gc and possibly the sellers, although they may have been duped into thinking this guy was legit.

Your in a mess, best thing you can do is try to get a conference with the sellers and agents and see if you can resolve it, if that doesn't work your next step is to consult with a lawyer.

------------------
Wes Murphree
Investment Realty
http://www.SCInvestmentRealty.com
http://www.3NetLease.com
http://www.MultifamilyListings.com

UPDATE:

I have consulted with a lawyer and told him every detail. His advice is to attempt mediation with the sellers and listing agent. If that breaks down then the next step would be small claims---as the total cost will be less then $4,000.

I also filed formal complaint papers with the NC Licensing Board for GC. Once thier investigation is over they will provide me with a formal letter stating that he was not licensed at the time of the repairs to my house.

The lawyer said that since I did not hire the GC, my complaint is with the sellers and the listing agent. If they want to turn around and take him to court after I get my money from them, then thats their issue.

merle