Seller disclosure laws may allow you to sue for fraud or damages. You’ll have to prove the seller knew about unresolved issues and get estimates for repairs.
Q: We purchased our first home in September 2009. We hired a professional home inspection and no major problems were noted during the inspection.
After a few months, we began to notice a sewage gas smell throughout the upstairs and into the attic. We had a plumber out several times but were not able to solve this problem. I called another local plumber and he claimed to have been out at our home numerous times with the previous owner for the same problem, but nothing could ever be resolved.
Unresolved Issues
The previous owner opted not to take more exploratory measures on account of the cost it would be to do so, and so left the issue unresolved. We were not informed of this problem when we purchased the home and only recently learned that the seller was aware of this problem from a professional.
Additionally, we have a fireplace that was said to be in working order when the home was purchased, but on trying to use it, the entire house filled with smoke. We later had talked to a group of people in town who knew the previous owners and asked if we had ever gotten the fireplace problem fixed. They knew the previous owner had a problem with it. We had a fireplace guy out to have a look and he said it obviously needed some work and is a potential fire hazard.
My question is, having already purchased the home and now occupying it for more than a year, do we have any kind of legal recourse against the previous owners?
Seller Disclosure Laws May Allow You to Sue for Fraud or Damages
A: If you sue the seller for fraud (claiming the house was in working order while knowing that there were material issues), I don’t believe there is a statute of limitations, or if there is one in your state, it could be as short as one year or longer. So, if you don’t sue your seller within the time frame required in your state you’d be out of luck.
I wouldn’t wait. You should immediately contact a real estate attorney that handles seller disclosure issues and go over the facts of your case. But before you start spending big money with attorneys, you should determine what each problem is and what it will take to fix it.
Estimating Repairs
Make sure you get at least two estimates as to what it will take to correct both problems. If you end up finding out that the cost is less than $1,000, you might decide to move on and forget it. While you could sue the seller for that expense, you might find the hassle of dealing with the issue might outweigh what you get back from the seller.
You can even go to small claims court in your state and sue the seller, but you still have to determine what it will cost you and what you can get back.
You can also contact the broker and the sellers and let them know what you found out. Give them the opportunity to make it right and come clean. If they can’t or won’t make you happy, then you should consult with a litigation attorney with experience in seller disclosure issues.
If you bought the property as a short sale, the sellers likely don’t have any cash to make things right, and suing them might be a complete waste of your time and money. In this case, you might be stuck for the cost of fixing these problems, unless you can prove that the seller’s agent knew these problems existed, had a legal obligation to disclose these issues to you and failed to tell you about them.
More on Topics Related to Seller Disclosure Laws
Does Seller Disclosure Cover Plumbing Problems?
What Homebuyers Should Know About Seller Disclosure
No Seller Disclosure? Home Buyer Worries About Investing In the Home
Seller Disclosure Laws Don’t Cover All Issues
Buying a Flipped House: Nightmare
This happened to my parents in the house we grew up in. The sellers knew they had a faulty sump pump system and never disclosed it. Every time it rained and the power went out, our entire basement flooded.
It was a split foyer and the basement was where the master bedroom was. Talk about costly. Thank God for insurance or my parents would be bankrupt.
They did approach the sellers after a few months and were “given” a couple thousand. But that was no where near enough to do the needed replacements and repairs on top of the cost of having 3 children.
I bought my house here in NC six years ago and the seller did not disclose that all the floor joist, rim joist, and sill plate were either rotten or had termite damage. After crawling into the crawlspace I was able to see that the seller knew of this problem because of some of the patch work and band aids the seller used to hide the problem. Im a disabled veteran and don’t have the money for all the repairs.
Gwynn,
If you can prove the seller knew or should have known about the problem, you might be able to sue them successfully. It’s just so hard to meet that standard.
Ilyce
We just purchase a home and only have been in the home for a month and a half. Their is a small leak coming from the roof to inside the home . When we did our inspection you could not notice damage. The home owner had the ceiling cover up
Could we sue the former homr owner
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I purchased a lot to build a Dealership and this was the last lot left from the sellers and after building a Dealership building in 2004 I noticed that the property start sinking few years later. Having said that the contractor didn’t want to repair now 2015 We decide to demolish the floor/lot and realized that they use this lot for a dump site from debree from other lots. Now 12 years later, I have to clean up the the site and repair the sinking building. Can I go after the seller trust for my damage since was not disclosed?
You are most likely outside your states statue of Limitations, but consult with a real estate attorney in your area. Also, many times when purchasing from a trust there is no disclosure, so next to impossible to prove anyone knew of the issues with the land.
My water pump and water tank went out I have just been in my house only a year. I have No home warranty insurance. Who responsibilities is it to replace it and I did have a home inspection done. Also how do I go about getting my money back and from who since I just been in my house a year.
I am currently suing the previous owner of my house. It was a DIY job when he installed new windows. they had been leaking for 3 years. mold in the walls and flooring. There are certain ways to install windows and he did none of it. However, my inspector never noticed either. He’s next on my list. My attorney said to have them repaired because we have to have a final price for what all it cost. Every window had an issue except one and brick is below it. I tore out drywall, flooring, and even sub-floors to get rid of the mold and smell. all the windows had to be re-wrapped on the outside and caulked properly. I had to pay for two months extra in my apartment. new carpet, drywall, flooring, studs. It takes forever for this process.
Currenlty going through a similar situation, what was the outcome for you??
bought a home at absolute auction. on lbar it said it had a geo thermal system. after trying to sell it months the sellers but it up for auction.in sellers disclosure it showed a heat pump had been added, but nothing else.the real estate company hired a auctioneer to auction off home. we were told the geo thermal system was in the basement, so we saw a unit which we thought was the geo thermal unit.we also saw a radiant heat system on 2 floors of the house. So in our mind we have radiant heat for the floors,geo thermal for heated and cool air, and a heat pump for heated and cool air. 3 types of heat and two types of cool air.the auctioneer and realtor told everyone that the geo thermal was there but needed a part. they told everyone at the auction and recorded that it needed a part but was there.After we signed papers we found out later the geo thermal was pulled out a year and a half earlier by the son-in -law who lived at the house. it was going to cost us $37500.00 to replace, so we sold home to to another buyer for 37500 to cover cost of replacing geo system. do we have any grounds to collect losses since sold this property.the realtor would not let us talk to the owner and told us they knew all about the property. we tried to revisit the property before closing and was not allowed in time to reinspect.we did file a complaint against the realtors broker , and auctioneer but they gave excuses like we did not know and its your fault for not inspecting it better, even as they were telling everyone its here it just needs a part. they have also defenserealtor lawyers already,lol. again do i have any rights since i sold property and how much time ti file somethingl. thank you
So we bought a house in upper wisonsin, havent lived there even a year yet and the furnice was needing to be replaced about 3 months in and 2 techs said it shouldnhave been caught by the building inspector and told to us. Our pipes are all rotted under the house and we are only 10 months in. Is there cause for us to sue or ask for help or compensation?
I just bought a house in November 2016 after closing the builder/ the seller came to collect $2,500 claimed that it was for the deck stair and this stair was originally appraised with the home and it was part of the mortgage please I need help should I call FHA this is a mortgage fraud
Alfred,
All of the builder’s charges should have been included at the closing. It’s hard to understand why you’d get a bill later, after the closing. Unless there was something in writing, where the builder said there’s be a follow-up or separate invoice, it’s hard to see how you’d have to pay this cost. But, consult with your real estate attorney to make sure there wasn’t something added to the contract or to the closing docs.
Good luck,
Ilyce Glink, Publisher
I just purchased a house in CA and one of the bathrooms were remodeled, but the the toilet flushes with hot water. Plumber told me they used the hot waterline for the toilet and can be detrimental if continuously used. During the inspection, the water heater was not working but after a month of living here and having guests over, the toilet flushes really hot water. Can I file a small claims if the seller does not have this fixed.
I’m certain they were aware because I was told they lived through the renovation and even after the fact. Any advice?
I bought a house in York pa. The seller was the daughter of the owner they repaired something’s before closing only after about a month the repairs failed a hole on the side of the porch was filled with putty and after rain it simply washed away the brick work was not don’t right and mice got into the house from holes in the foundation they had failed to patch. The sewer drain has been the biggest problem after having a service out to clear out common root problem I find out after dealing with the township that it’s been an on going problem the problem is in the middle of the city street the city says it’s on my property not their problem. The home inspection failed to catch the fire place needed repairs. Not like I have a ton of money to hire a lawyer and fix all these problems after a year I wish I could sell the house but with all these issues I doubt I can
I need answers. Just recently putchased. Seller provided disclosure. It said basement leaked when heavy rain. Never disclosed that there may be foundation issues which makes water pour in basement. Do I havea recourse because of them hiding this latent defect from me. As much as this basement leaks. They had to know about it cuz they tried to fix it.
Bought a house 1 1/2 years ago and found out quickly the seller blatantly lied in the disclosure forms. She replied no when asked if there were any flooding problems in the disclosures and we have discovered the property floods when it rains and we aren’t talking a little standing water, we are talking the city routes the upper part of town run off thru our property so it’s more like 3 foot deep of rushing water. We also found out that during the time she owned the property the city made an ordinance requiring all existing and new construction must in backflow preventer valves and clean out on the sewer lines. We found out that when our property floods our toilet wouldn’t flush and nothing would drain. The city notified us that the previous owner never complied to the city ordinance put in place 8 years previous to us buying the house! So we had the city sewer backing up into our lines!
Wasn’t caught by the inspector and when the sell was asked in the disclosures if she knew of any sewage or plumbing problems she marked no as well!
But that not all… We were taking off the plywood walls in the garage to redo it with fireproof material and uncovered severe fire damage. There had been an electrical fire and all they did was redo the electric and covered it up with plywood. Half the studs in the whole exterior wall weren’t able to hold weight and the wall plate was burnt and severely charred and crumbled when touched. One good wind and that wall would have come down. We fixed that already of course and lucky for us my husband is in construction and was able to bring home leftover lumber from a job and fixed everything. That could have cost us a couple thousand
Can we get money from her to fix all these problems? We are talking $20,000- $30,000 in construction to fix everything appropriately. We need a concrete ditch thru our backyard for the water to run thru so it quits washing away our yard and damaging the fence and the sewer lines need to be completely redone
I bought a car cadilac cts from Michael and kari meeks. I did not go and look at the car myself. my husband went with a supposedly mechanic who in inspected the car and said it was safe to drive. the car was brought to my house and I proceeded to apply for insurance and was informed by my agent that the car had been wrecked and assumed it was not safe to drive. the car had several promblems including the radiator and transmission and the frame was bent I paid a cerified mechanic to look at this car and was informed that the seller were aware of these problems because their insurance company would in form them.
I know this is a long shot but I was having problems with my kitchen tile cracking but notice short after water coming out of it so when I got a contractor to check he discovered that the drainage pipe behind the sink wall was busted when cut through the sheetrock he found the problem it was mold he also found that previous owner didn’t properly fix it even though I been in the house 10yrs. it noway I would have known is its something be about it because the smell is make me sick.
Susan,
Things happen in houses. You’ve lived in your home for 10 years. You may know when that pipe burst, but it’s tough to prove that it’s because it wasn’t fixed correctly more than 10 years ago. Since you didn’t have a problem for 10 years with the smell, the issue is a recent one. Unfortunately, seller disclosure won’t apply here because of the time limitation. Typically, you’d have a couple of years to go back to the seller with an issue that wasn’t disclosed. But in this case, you’re way out of time.
I’m sorry about that. Hopefully you can get this fixed and continue living happily in your home.
Thanks for your comment,
Ilyce Glink, Publisher
ThinkGlink.com
Got keys to my new home yesterday! Was so excited until I went to the basement and the carpet was soaking wet. We had an inspection done and there were no major issues found. The seller disclosure said no prior issues. What are our options? We didn’t expect flooded basement on our first day of home ownership. We bought the house from a relocation company.
Building a new home, we found out 6 months into the building process and found out there will be a storm drain and the bottom of our driveway and a manhole cover at the bottom of the driveway. This was never told to us until a month ago. Is there anything I can do about this. They cant move the storm drain itself. Can we sue as they do not want to do anything about it even though this was never told to us til 6 months not building the house. Thank you!
I bought a house on land contract 2 yrs ago. Supposedly everything worked. When we had power turned on, the water heater or the ventless furnace didnt work. All the plumbing had to be replaced and the electric needed updated.. There was live wire running in the attic that ran to no where. The 1st storm we got 1/2 the siding blew off. When I said something to the guy we are purchasing from, he said “ah the joys of home ownership!”. Is there hope or are we just stuck?
We bought our home one year ago this month. The sellers pulled a few fast ones on us like not leaving outdoor furniture that was supposed to go with the house. Also the took a water softener that was part of the hot tub that was left here. We decided we could live without the furniture. Our problem is we noticed a large number of flies that died in the window sills. All through this past year. This spring as the weather got warmer there would be hundreds of flies on the outside of the house, on the furniture, in the fence posts. I researched these flies and they are cluster flies. They are considered a pest. If not taken care of they reproduce substantialually each year. I called the Orkin people who came out and was told this will be a major costly thing to deal with. Because of the heights of our second floor a lift truck will need to come out. A contractor will need to be hired to seal the entire roof. The insulation in the attic is totally infested and needs to be replaced and it will mean many trips by the Orkin man to come out each month. The sellers signed there were no known pests. But when I called Orkin they thought I was the previous owner and now decided to to get these flies treated. We’re looking at thousands of dollars. We also feel that it would be very hard for us to sell the house if we wanted to without getting this fixed. The prior owners knew if this problem a year before we bought it and chose to not take care of it. I want them to pay for this to be taken care of as well as our lawyers fees and court costs. Do I have recourse with this?? I live in Montana.
Jo:
You should speak with a local attorney who specializes in seller disclosure issues. The key thing is to be able to prove that the seller knew, or should have known, about the problem. The fact that Orkin thought you were the owner and knew of the problem is a good sign. Tell that to the attorney. There might be ways to get a copy of the official proposal they gave your sellers.
If you can prove the sellers lied on their disclosure form, then you may be able to recover damages plus court costs and legal fees.
Good luck.
Ilyce Glink, Publisher
ThinkGlink.com
Ohio: We sold a home 20k less and we did slot of work after the contract was signed including them lying telling us they have FHA loan. We had to do more Reno’s.. we have a concession for appliances and I told them I buy a fridge but then I didn’t, I left the other fridge and the rental company came to get it from them a few weeks later and now they want to sue us for fraud thonthey could of paid it off.. we felt we did too much and they wanted too much. It was in the listing agreement when it was 20k more but not the contract. We went to court the judge wants his choice in writing and leaving us in suspense.. he kept mentioning fraud.. any idea what can happen?
Mell,
You never know what will happen in court – it could easily be a surprise to either you or the other party. I hope it goes your way. Typically, with real estate, what’s written down will prevail.
Let me know what happens.
Ilyce
We bought a home three tears ago, built in 1992, and the seller only disclosed that no permit was obtained for the detached shop. We had to relocate and are selling now and just now finding that the house never received a certificate of occupancy, shop was never permitted, detached garage, pond and retaining wall never permitted! Very stressed because previous owners never disclosed. Washington state. Looking for any advice……