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What jerks!

FI and I closed on our home last Friday. Very exciting, things were going good, we were doing a lot of cleaning up and starting to personalize. Yesterday a neighbor stopped by and told us about a complaint that was filed on our house about a pipe draining from the sump pump, it ends in the middle of the yard instead of going to the ditch. She told me not only were they notified of the complaint, she personally called the real estate office and talked to the agent to let them know about the issue, in which they replied "Well we have an offer pending on the house". So now I'm in the process of finding out if we are responsible, or if they are because they did not disclose this issue with the home. (Which is what I think it will be) So then, do I just ask them to get it fixed, call a lawyer, what? I'm just so astounded that these "professionals" would just omit something like this. Did they think it would never come up? Or that we would just fix it and not think to find out if it's even our responsibility.  Sorry for the rant, and the long post, I'm just so irked atm!

Re: What jerks!

  • Yikes, I'm not entirely sure what that means but it doesn't sound good.  Did you have an inspection before you closed?  I would call a lawyer.
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  • Yes, we had an inspection, but the pipe is underground, and it only gushes water when the sump pump runs, which isn't very often, so there was no way to tell during the inspection that this was going on. What a freakin headache
  • Well we were almost in this situation a few years ago. We were about to put an offer on a house when we ran into some old friends from WAYYYY back in the day. They invited us to a block party where the ppl around the nieghborhood told us that everyone there was required to switch from sump pumps to sewer system.... All they said in the papers for the house was that there had been talks of doing this in the past.It was up to us (the potential buyers) to investigate. We would have been stuck with thousands in switching this over.Thats KS law idk where you are or if this is universal. GL!
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  • I'm not sure, but I think you might be stuck with this problem yourself.  If the previous owners "neglected" to tell you this info, I highly doubt that they will say "oh, okay, we'll fix it" if you ask them.You definitely need to call a lawyer that specializes with real estate problems. They are the only ones who could tell you, for sure, whether the previous owners and real estate company are liable or not.  And you need to do it soon, before the neighbors continue to file complaints or it does more damage to the yard that you could be liable for as well.
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  • That's the good thing about seller disclosure laws noelle, since we have proof that they were aware of the problem (the complaint on file sent to his new address, and the neighbor making the agent aware by phone) they failed to disclose and, if I'm understanding everything correctly, are liable for fixing the problem. Luckily, when the sump pump runs, it is more of a PITA than actual damage since it's far enough away from the house. Why can't people just be honest? :(
  • I don't do real estate law, but I'm pretty sure that if the seller knows about a defect like that, and neglects to tell you, they can be liable. You should talk to a real estate lawyer asap and find out if that's the law in your state and what you can do.
  • That seems promising then.  I'd still call a lawyer though, just to be sure.  Plus, you are likely to get a faster response from the previous owners if you let them know that you've sought legal advice. And hey, at least it's not super damaging... Good luck!  
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