What to do if my home inspection was not been done correctly?
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What to do if my home inspection was not been done correctly?
I have been in my new condo for 2 weeks and this is what I have found some things out. There is dry rot in 2 walls and that the air conditioning does not work and I have been told that it needs to be replaced at a price of $9000. The washing machine was leaking and dry rot was under the washing machine. The toilets don’t flush correctly and had to be replaced and one of them was lose under the floor as the floor had dry rot. The balcony doors was damaged as it had been broken into as the door lock was missing on the outside. And 1 of the windows was leaking water inside the condo. Finally, the ceiling has also had water damage and had warped. What I want to kno is if I can sue?
Asked on August 11, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Nevada
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
You could sue the home inspector for negligence and the seller for fraud. You would file one lawsuit with separate causes of action (claims) for negligence and fraud.
Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable home inspector would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).
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 condo had you known its true condition. Fraud also applies when the seller has concealed or failed to disclose material facts which the buyer could not have reasonably discovered.
Your damages (monetary compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) for negligence would be the cost of repairs.
Your damages 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 purchased regardless of the fact that the actual loss suffered may have been less.
Out of pocket recovery for fraudulent misrepresentation permits recovery of the difference between the price paid and the actual value of the property acquired.
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