u/Southern_Surprise_94

Hey there! So we purchased our home in Hyattsville a couple years ago. Throughout the home buying process, no one (not our agent, the inspector, etc) bothered to mention that the finished basement and attic were not up to code, and as first time homebuyers, we didn’t question it at the time. However, much of the advertised sq footage (including a bedroom and bath) of the house is in the basement and attic, and as our family grows, I’d love to use more of that space. From my (limited) knowledge, the most obvious issue in both spaces is ceiling height.
So a couple questions:

1. Legally, are we responsible for basically cleaning up the previous owner’s mess?
2. Has anyone ended up in a similar situation? If so, how did you address it?
3. If we do want to reclaim some of this space as official living space, are there trusted companies that would be good to work with?