A “hidden” catastrophe

[Grayson Gist]

Hey,

I just bought a fourplex in the KC area to owner occupy. I bought it with an agent after using direct mail to find it. The inspector told us “this is the best maintained Fourplex I’ve ever seen”. It appeared that way until we tried to move in. We saw the wall was a little damp in our master closet. We opened it up and called a mold professional, and he said it was too wet for him to treat. Apparently the previous landlord used an unlicensed person to install the vinyl without pulling a permit. Now water is leaking behind the siding. We had a siding professional come out and he stated the siding was all installed incorrectly and not to code. Insurance won’t cover it, my lender doesn’t care, and a lawyer said it’s probably not worth going after anyone.

Does anyone have a solution or direction for me to go? I’m about to lose $30k to fix and reside this fourplex. Thank you.

[Russell Brazil]

I think whoever is trying to sell you siding is making this out to be a bigger deal than it is. Locate where the water is coming in and fix the issue. This does not sound like a $30k problem.