Would you hire an attorney?

Question

If you found out that:

2 years and 7 months prior to the purchase of your 100+ year old home, the previous owners had video taped the entire sewer system and subsequently removed a section of sewer pipe underneath their sidewalk. You then found that the sewer cleanout in the basement had extensive wear from repeatedly being snaked. Finally, you remember all of their belongings being placed on crates in the basement when you viewed the home...

After having repeated sewer backup problems yourself and finding that a much bigger and more expensive problem exists than just replacing a section of sewer pipe (ie the pipes in the back yard are collapsing). Would you believe the previous owners when they said that they totaly forgot about ever having had a problem when filling out and signing the property disclosure form? And that after their repair they never had another problem? And after viewing the video tape of their sewer line they said"it was a funny tape, so they threw it away."

Basically what I'm asking is if you were on a jury and this was all the information you were provide to render a decision with, would you be confident that the previous owners were engaged in fraudulent behavior?

The disclosure statement specifically asked if there had been any repairs 5 years prior to the sale. They left the space blank.

Answer 1

What is your ultimate goal here? Are you trying to get out of your mortgage? Get the previous owners to pay for repairs?

If you are truly able to prove that they failed to disclose this information you can probably win a lawsuit, but if the previous owners are not wealthy it may be like trying to squeeze blood out of a rock.

Did you have an inspection done prior to the purchase of this home? If so, did the inspector notice anything amiss with the pipes? If not, why not?

It sounds like you have grounds for a lawsuit, but you may not get any satisfaction out of it. Lawyers are expensive. I wish you well.

Answer 2

I don't think you have a case... here are some reasons why:

1) You need to talk to an attorney. How much you can sue for & if you can sue for legal fees depends on where you live. It may also not be cost effective to drag this into a regular court with an attorney. If you can't sure for atty fees, you could easily be spending many thousands of dollars on paying him. If it's only a $4000 repair, you'll only see a tiny bit of that money.

2) Shame on you for not reading the disclosure statement. You'd have more ground to stand on if they claimed the sewer was fine. That will hurt your case. You also were aware the video of the sewer line was thrown away. I don't think they were required by law to keep it, and if they were honestly thinking the sewer problem was fixed, why would anyone keep an hour long movie of a dirty sewer pipe?

3) Signs of repeated snakings in a 100 year old house sound perfectly reasonable to me. Yes they were aware enough of a problem to video the sewer line, but they also fixed everything that was bad AT THAT TIME. Maybe the problem you're having now only became apparent in the last few months... no way for an honest seller to know. Boxes up on crates is also not proof they had sewer problems; many basements have damp cement floors or may get wet during hurricanes.

4) It's been "2 years 7 months". In most states the Statute of Limitations is 2 years for a case like this. Check with a lawyer, but I believe you needed to file sooner.


Bottom line: see if you can get a free consultation with an attorney, but this is something that you may be better off filing in Small Claims. Honestly if it were me, over 2 years after the purchase, I'd write it off as just being an expensive repair on a house thats a century old.

Answer 3

Does your state disclosure forms ask if there *ever has been* a problem with the sewer system, or just rather *to the best of your knowledge is there currently* a problem with the sewer system.

Prior owner will say they had the problem fixed, and your problems are due to normal wear & tear/maintenance issues unrelated to the problem they had fixed. Particularly because over 2 1/2 years has passed.

You would need to prove that the sellers knew of an active problem and deliberately failed to disclose it. I don't think there's much of a case, sorry.

Answer 4

Check the sellers disclosure that should've been provided to you at time of contract. If they did not disclose the problem then it's negligence. It doesn't matter if they forgot or not. Antoher important fact is "how long have you occupied this home?" There is by law in many states a clause that protects the buyers from a certain amount of time should a defect arise. Find out if you request homeowners warrant in the original contract. This is only 200 payable by seller and is well worth it. It covers such items and hassles.

Answer 5

Funchy has it right. Plus, there may be a statue of limitations in your purchase contract. Bottom line, try to get legal advice from your local Legal-Aid. If the repairs that were done corrected the problem when it occurred, then you would have to assume that damages you have now were not present at that time. Nothing lasts forever and what may be working properly this week may not on tomorrow. It's impossible to tell when something is going to break down. I'm afraid you may have inherited them problem.

Answer 6

YES YES YES! Hire an attorney quick like! Not only the prior owners, but the broker(Salespeople) are obligated to disclose such matters, especially if you can prove they had prior knowledge IE video tape! Also there is a statute of limitations on things like that, so consulting with an attorney is a great idea!

Answer 7

Caveat emptor. It might be difficult to prove in court that you did not expect to have problems with the sewer of a 100 year old house. The previous owners may very well have deceived you but per suing a legal strategy might prove to be more costly and probably ineffective.

Answer 8

full disclosure is a law of course...but on the disclosure papers, it must state that there was an existing problem with the sewers and that now you know about it...if not stated in the disclosure and was just a verbal disclosure, then youre pretty much liable for your own sewage problems..verbal disclosure will not hold up in a court..unless it is on the paper they signed...you can try for a lawyer, but them leaches will take your money and not guarantee the outcome you desire

Answer 9

sounds like the owners knew the house had a bad sewer system and they in the purchasers bad luck they got rid of it. I dont know what a lawyer can accomplish in this area but good luck!!!!

Answer 10

They new the problem was there and with held the information! I would go to a specialist in that area and have them investigate the problem and they should be able to tell you all the damage and how long it would have taken to occur and get a lawyer and take the case to court. my opinion they defrauded you and don't let the liars get away with it!!!!