Mold discovery..what would you do

[infoearthling]

Purchased a home last month and started a kitchen remodel to put a new backsplash... Contractor removes drywall and on the other side is the bathroom and discovers this mess.

Obviously the previous homeowner knew about the leak as those are new copper fittings.

I'm having the contractor rip all that out and not just paint over it, but now I have to rip out the tube/shower behind it.

We bought the house as is... But shouldn't that have been disclosed?

 

[Geofd]

Not sure how that works , if you bought the house as is then I guess you would have to be the home inspector and catch what ever issues there are, at just a guess the grout has worn away,or green board wasn't used
Bad ventilation causing excess condensation, leaking shower valve,anyone of those things

 

[havasu]

If he knew about the mold, you can sue him for damages. If this was a previous insurance claim, this would prove he had knowledge.

 

[infoearthling]

If he knew about the mold, you can sue him for damages. If this was a previous insurance claim, this would prove he had knowledge.

Interesting about them having a previous insurance claim? Don't know how I would look into that, or the name of their previous contractor.

I'm having my settlement attorney looking into it. It is apparently very difficult to prove they knew about it and withheld the information, but if I could somehow find out their contractor, then we could query him/them about the reason they closed it up with remediation

 

[Geofd]

Call the city to see if there was a plumbing permit for that new work you show

 

[infoearthling]

Call the city to see if there was a plumbing permit for that new work you show

I don't think you need a permit for a plumbing "repair".. It's wasn't a new bathroom install

 

[Geofd]

In Massachusetts you do

 

[havasu]

When I purchased this home and applied for homeowners insurance, they told me there were two water claims from the previous owner. As a result, I was prohibited from purchasing conventional homeowners insurance, but needed a custom policy with a $2500 deductible, for the first 5 years. Why this isn't mandated for title companies to do this research before purchasing a home is criminal.