Dear Bloggers,
A few months ago, we bought us a new home
and yes, we were aware of the fact that this was not a new house. In my opinion
a homeowner should look after his property. This is the thing that is occurring
as the former owner has laid back in his chair and keeping up with the house
that needs some work was not his thing.
Our home came with some unhappy surprises
like leaks, cracks, broken mechanical systems, and other defects, the fiscal
responsibility might not be ours alone. According to the lawyer we have hired
for this case.
What if something was wrong with your
house at the time of purchase and someone, the seller, the property seller's
real estate agent, or the inspector could have or should have told us about it,
but didn't?
Such problems can become known days, weeks
after the sale, leaving you angry and wondering whether you really must
shoulder the entire financial burden.
In such cases, you might be able to ask
the responsible person to pitch in and take the matter to court if they do not.
Ideally, you'll be able to resolve matters without filing a lawsuit suit.
Minor Home Defects or Natural Aging Aren't
Grounds for a Lawsuit. We knew when we bought the house that it wasn't in a
perfect condition. Some problems, such as a crack in the front walk, A window
frame that was rotten these things were obvious. Others, such as aging
plumbing, the seller might have told you about in the course of the sale. (In
our country laws require home sellers to disclose all "material"
defects to prospective buyers.)
Our home inspector, we had to hire one to
get a mortgage also told us about a few foreseeable problems.
Then after the sale, our home probably
continued its normal process of aging and decaying, leaving us to deal with the
consequences. None of these sorts of issues provide any grounds upon which to
run back to the seller to complain.
Will your insurance company cover the
damage? If so, there might be no need to act on your own.
Could the Home Seller Be Held Legally
Responsible for the Undisclosed Defects?
Even if you think you've been wronged, you
can't sue everyone involved in the sale of your home. The home seller is the
first one to consider, of course.
As mentioned, nearly every country in
Europe has laws requiring sellers to advise buyers of certain defects in the
property, typically by filling out a standard disclosure form before the sale
is completed. (This responsibility remains even if you bought the house
"as is.")
The form usually asks the seller to tell
whether the property has certain features like appliances, a roof, a
foundation, systems for electricity, water, and heating, and more and then to
rate or describe their condition. Disclosure laws are more comprehensive than
others, and if a feature isn't on the list, the seller might not be required to
speak up. Also, the seller isn't usually required to scout out problems.
If there's clearly a place on the form
where the seller should have stated a problem but denied it, your job is to try
to figure out whether the seller in fact knew about it. For example, if the
seller patched over or hid problem areas, or if the neighbors have told you
about the seller's efforts to deal with a problem, the evidence is on your
side.
Could the Seller's Real Estate Agent Be
Held Legally Responsible?
Sometimes' laws make sellers' real estate
agents liable for failing to disclose problems they observed or were told of by
the sellers, though often their duties are limited.
Could Your Home Inspector Be Held Legally
Responsible?
Hopefully, we are as the bank asked us for
getting a home inspection report done before buying. In theory, the inspector
should have spotted problems that the seller wasn't aware of or was turning a
blind eye to. If the inspector missed problems that an expert (a professional
peer) should have noticed, the inspector might be on the hook; that is, legally
liable.
We read over your inspection report to see
what it said about the area in question. Some buyers are embarrassed to find
that the problem is spelled out right in the report or falls within an area
that the inspector rightfully excluded from the report (such as a blocked off
or inaccessible area). In our case the crawl space was not accessible because
it was full of water and gave off a fierce dank smell. As a result, the inspector
could not figure out if the utilities were in working order located in the
crawl space.
But in other cases, the inspector did not
meet basic standards of professional competence. This is the reason our lawyer
is hiring an independent building
inspector and maintenance expert. And who will
hopefully be able to get a clear picture of the stated defects that are being
denied by the seller.
Do You Have a Solid Case?
Once you've figured out the possible
responsible parties, you'll want to know whether their action or inaction might
entitle you to compensation. If your situation meets the criteria below, you
might have a good case. We've collapsed a few legal principles into this list,
but it will apply to most situations in most U.S. states.
- The
defect was there before you bought the home.
- It's
not an obvious defect that you could have seen yourself before
buying.
- No
one told you about the defect before the sale, or someone actually lied to
you about it.
- You
relied on the lies or nondisclosures.
- You've
incurred monetary damage as a result.
- You're
within any appropriate deadlines.
Even if you think you meet the above
criteria, remember that in an actual lawsuit, it will be your job to convince a
judge. Hence the more evidence you can start gathering, the better. We are
trying to avoid a lawsuit as there is quite a cost involved. Still if the
seller continues to resist and deny like this then there is probably little
choice but to take it to court. Writing the letters is difficult and this has
been dragging on for several months now. Hopefully, the courts will provide clarity,
and we can move forward with realizing our own little palace. We have not lost
hope and hope for a good outcome.
You might still be responsible for paying
court costs and other fees, plus expenses such as the attorney's phone calls
and postage. Or the court might award reimbursement of attorney's fees as part
of your damages.
Waiting for better times.
The Old Sailor,
