Tax Realty Consultant

Insurance is a very complex issue, and I am not well-versed in that area. However, I suspect that since you did not have an insurable interest in the previous owner’s policy, you cannot file that claim.
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But all may not be lost. Have you considered contacting your home inspector who missed the damage? That inspector may have insurance coverage.

Furthermore, you may also have a claim against your seller. Some states require sellers to disclose known defects in their house, and perhaps your seller was required to tell you about the hail damage but did not.

I suggest that you contact a real estate attorney in your area and see if you have any remedies. However, litigation is expensive, time-consuming and uncertain. If the amount of the damage is relatively small, I usually advise my clients that they should just pay for the repairs and drop the matter.

I recently signed a contract to sell my house. I have changed my mind and do not want to sell. It has been two days. Can I back out?

Unless the laws in your state provide for a cooling-off period, you cannot cancel the contract. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no federal law giving potential home sellers the right to terminate a contract after it is signed.

Buyers, on the other hand, often have legal grounds to get out of a signed contract. For example, if the property is in a homeowners association or is a condominium, many state laws allow the contract purchaser to cancel the contract within a set number of days after receiving copies of all the legal and financial documents of that association. A seller has no such right.

Here’s the bottom line: Once you sign a contract to sell a house, it is a binding and valid document. You should have thought about the situation before you signed — not after.

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