Question: I'm trying to buy
a home for the first time, did the usual contract, had the inspection done and
found out the roof had four layers of shingles. The inspection report came out
and stated the roof was not leaking, but structurally it was dangerous.
The sellers came back and said they will fix the roof, but increase the price of the house. That was a verbal, and we stated no because we did not expect to pay more for the house.
To make a long story short, the
sellers are two attorneys and they are now threatening us with legal action
because they said nothing is wrong with the roof and they agreed to fix it
anyway.
Answer: You need to get your own attorney and have him or her
look at the purchase agreement and all disclosure statements. Most likely the
building code requires that no more than two layers of roofing material can be
used. The reason for this is to limit weight on the roof. Too much weight could cause structural
problems.
As to the seller's offer, it's a counter offer to fix the roof at
your cost in the form of a higher price to which you have not agreed. What,
exactly, is attractive about that?
