we bought this house because the owners said the basement did not flood, we use at as living space, and now it floods and cannot be used.We just bought it a year ago.
2006-07-14 12:36:20 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
They could be, based on the terms of sale and property acceptance. You would need to reference your original sale contract between you and the broker or agent or if if was sale by owner then whatever contract you had written for the deed exchange.
2006-07-14 12:41:32 · answer #1 · answered by fun_guy_otown 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
In most states you have few legal remedies available to you. In real estate, it's buyer beware - as soon as the title passes to you, most terms of the real estate contract legally dissolve - as if there were never a contract at all. Except that you are now the owner, and you're now responsible for everything about the property - tax liens against it, repairs, etc... If you had a bad lawyer represent your purchase, you could end up paying off the previous owner's dishwasher. You may disagree with this, but the law is clear and established - and since it's the law, it is right.
You own the house. The law says that the flooding is your responsibility. In theory, you could have had an inspector look for old flood damage, etc before you completed the purchase.
If you live in a state that has seller disclosures, you'd have to prove that the previous seller knew about the problem - and that is a very tough nut to crack.
2006-07-14 12:44:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most likely yes. In most states the owner is required to disclose anything the know that would materially effect the use or value of the home. However, you have to do some due diligence yourself. If the title report indicated the home is in a flood zone, you probably should have asked about it. In either case, since the prior owners knew about the issue, they are at fault.
Your best recourse is to talk to the agent you worked with to buy the house and engage the prior owners in a dialogue first. You may be better off going through mediation and then binding arbitration before heading straight to a real estate attorney. The attorney will cost you more and take longer to settle the case.
2006-07-14 12:43:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go find your realestate closing and search through it. There should be a page in there that the previous owner signed saying that there is no leaking in the basement of the house.When u say "FLOOD" is it after heavy rain or moderate rain. If you've had the house a year and this is the first time that is has flooded than you may be out of luck....If the leak is below grade it is a pretty easy fix.Go to Home Depot or lowes and tell them your probllem. I had the exact saem thing happen to me and I fixed it myself for 1 hour of work and $90. YOu could also get hydraulic cement and patch the basement that way.
If your looking to get the previous owner to pay it may take up to 2 years!!!.
You may br better off putting it down as a life lesson and just move on even though you may feal cheated!!
Good luck
2006-07-14 12:48:35 · answer #4 · answered by Dub over here 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you can prove that the sellers had knowledge of wetness in the basement, you can sue them. If you had an inspection, you can sue the inspector (if he didn't catch it in the inspection); however, if the seller purposely did something that kept the inspector from being able to spot possible water damage, it is back to the seller. And, of course, you can sue the seller's Realtor, especially if there is evidence of prior water damage-it would be better if you could work it our with the previous owners, but I know that at least in Indiana, where I am a licensed Realtor, we carry E and O insurance, which is kind of like a malpractice insurance for things such as this.
The other problem, like someone else mentioned is that you say you've owned the house for a year-that is a long time to just now be noticing this, and may make it harder for you to win a lawsuit.
2006-07-14 15:09:33 · answer #5 · answered by michbarn99 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I guess you learned from your mistake. An inspector is suppose to be from the buyers side. You hire an independent person who evaluates the property. Can't imagine ANYWHERE where the norm would be to hire the seller to inspect the propeerty. But there could be other explanations. You say you lived there 2.5 years. How old is the property? Maybe those previous years were drier years and it didn't flood. Also, just because the tenant knows it floods does not mean the landlord knows it floods. If the tenant didn't use the area, they might not have told the landlord. You can pay to have it fixed. You can see if your homeowners insurance will fix it. It's very doubtful you will be able to go after a seller 2.5 years later...
2016-03-27 05:41:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You may have a variety of options... First talk to the neighbors and find out if they know if it has flooded in the past. If the answer is yes, and the previous home owners failed to disclose this information on their sellers disclosure statement, you have a legal basis for argument - LAWSUIT! If it has not flooded before, but is now, there may not be any legal recourse available to you. Talk to the realtor that helped you buy the home. they may suggest arbitration, which costs around $500, and can be legally binding. This being a significant invonvenience... if it WAS known about and hidden from you, they are going to be in big trouble financially. Good luck! I hope it all works out for you!
2006-07-14 12:43:33 · answer #7 · answered by loving father 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Did you get homeowners Warranty? Hopefully yes. Other wise read over your inspections carefully. There is a spot they had to sign about flooding. If they signed it off as no flooding and you can prove they knew, you can hold them liable. Also your inspector can be held responsible if he didn't do a proper job. Good Luck!
2006-07-14 12:40:06 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you can sue them if you can show that they knew it would flood. At that point its a failure to disclose, or even worse a material misrepresentation.
Did you get a hime inspector? Can yiu get an expert now who can say definitevely that if flooded in the past?
If so you need a lawyer, you absolutely can sue.
2006-07-14 12:43:30 · answer #9 · answered by adamdiran 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ugh. I had the same problem. What does it say in your original home inspection report? And did they say it did not leak in front of witnesses? Talk to your lawyer. You may indeed have a case. But a year is pushing the envelope to be sure.
2006-07-14 12:40:22 · answer #10 · answered by Quietman40 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋