Do we have any recourse against the seller?
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Do we have any recourse against the seller?
Since buying our house 6 months ago, we have replaced the water treatment system. According the company, the water treatment system had not been serviced for 10 years since the system was put in. We have also had to replace the dishwasher because when it was turned on, water started coming out from under it onto floor, the range because the oven did not work, and now the frig because it quit cooling. There were several functions that did not work such as the safety lock, the light, and the ice dispenser. However, it was still working. This past weekend the grinder pump quit working. We called repair and found out that pump had just been replaced less than 5 years ago. Everything I have just mentioned was not disclosed. We have a little over $10,000 additional money in this house thus far.
Asked on November 1, 2016 under Real Estate Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
You can sue the seller for fraud.
Fraud is the intentional misrepresentation of a material fact made with knowledge of its falsity and with the intent to induce your reliance upon which you justifiably relied to your detriment.
In other words, you would not have purchased the house had you known the true facts of the condition of the items which you subsequently repaired.
Fraud also applies in cases of nondisclosure of material facts by the seller where the buyer could not have reasonably discovered the true facts prior to purchase.
Your damages (monetary compensation you are seeking in a lawsuit) for fraud would be either the benefit of the bargain or your out of pocket loss.
Benefit of the bargain means a defrauded purchaser may recover the difference between the real and represented value of the property regardless of the fact that the actual loss suffered might have been less.
Out of pocket determination of damages for fraudulent misrepresentation permits recovery of the difference between the price paid and actual value of the property acquired.
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