I recently bought a condo. Before purchasing I was shown that the bathroom floor had a soft spot in it. The current owner would not allow any invasive investigation (such as flooring being pulled up or insulation in the crawl space being removed) so that we could confirm the extent of the damage. Everyone who looked at it felt that it was from an old water leak which had long sense stopped & that only the plywood would need to be replaced. Fast forward to me now being the condo owner & getting true estimates on all the damage. There have been numerous leaks... hot water heater overflow valve not even connected to exit pipe, Air Conditioner overflow pan has leaked many time, washer/dryer has leaked numerous times, bathtub &/or toilet has obviously leaked in the past, looks like upstairs unit leaked into the bathroom ceiling, & something could have leaked from above & run down the wall the separates the bath & bedroom). In my opinion, the previous unit owner was extremely negligent in not reporting some or all of these problems. They just let them fester & worsen. I have had a structural engineer come out & he determined that there is significant structural damage & that my unit will have to be partially dismantled for the repair. The HOA is responsible for structural, studs, sheet rock, sub floor so most of this will fall on them. This type of damage would not have gone unreported had I been in the unit but, the concern that brought me here... Can I be held liable for the negligence of the previous owner?
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