Posted by Jimmy on October 21, 2006 at 08:05:01:
get a couple bids to make the repairs. keep good records. when finished, send a demand letter to the buyer. if they balk, sue them. you may be able to do this in small claims court, depending on what is costs you to fix the problem. In Texas, that limit is $5000. this will save you the expense of hiring an atty.
Plumbing Issue Not Disclosed–Legal remedies??? - Posted by PA Home Buyer
Posted by PA Home Buyer on October 20, 2006 at 09:49:27:
My wife and I closed on our home in July. We moved into the home after getting married in August. When we first moved in the 2nd floor bathtub was not usable because the fixtures were removed by the seller shortly after the home inspection was done because there was a drip that the seller attempted to fix, but gave up and removed the fixtures and installed shut off valves.
A few weeks after moving in, we had a plumber install new fixtures and do repairs on the accessible parts of the tub drain. The bathtub worked fine for about 10 days. After the 10th day water draining from the tub leaked through the ceiling into the bedroom on the first floor. Shortly after that, any water going through the second floor sink and toilet also leaked through the ceiling to the bedroom below. The leak(s) are inaccessible without tearing holes in bedroom ceiling.
This home was completely remodeled by the investor who sold us the property. All of the ceilings, and hardwood floors throughout the house were completely redone. In addition the entire unfinished basement ceiling was spraypainted which prevented us from seeing if their was any previous water damage.
I spoke to the investor last night and he said that they did do patchwork on the ceiling in to repair what appeared to be previous water damage. On the disclosure sheet the investor checked that he was not aware of any past or present leaks, backups or other problems relating to the sewage system or plumbing. We feel that we should have known about the previous evidence of water damage in this bedroom so we could have contacted a plumber in addition to our home inspector to assess the sewage pipes in this bathroom.
We have had two plumbers look at the problem and they both said that since the house was vacant for a while the pipes would have corroded and it would have taken a few runs for the leak to begin again as we obviously discovered.
Do we have any type of legal recourse to seek compensation from the investor since he did not disclose any of the evidence of previous water damage in the house and his remodeling did not allow any problem to be readily evident to our home inspector? Any advice or guidance would be welcome.
Legal remedies??? Yes, see a lawyer - Posted by John Merchant
Posted by John Merchant on October 20, 2006 at 12:50:54:
If the Seller failed to disclose what he knew and it’s costing you money to repair, then he likely is liable for your damages.