recently bought a home with issue not disclosed with repair of 20-25K
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recently bought a home with issue not disclosed with repair of 20-25K
My wife and I bought a house 5 weeks ago and are already dealing with a major
plumbing issue that is now in the 20-25K range to fix. The contractor who gave
us the estimate gave us his opinion that it is implausible that sellers did not
know about this. The issue was severely downplayed to us. I would like to know
our legal options
Asked on May 9, 2017 under Real Estate Law, West Virginia
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
You can sue the seller for fraud. Fraud is the intentional misrepresentation or nondisclosure 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 bought the house had you known of the plumbing problems.
Your damages (monetary compensation you are seeking in your 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 purchased regardless of the fact that the actual loss suffered might have been less.
Out of pocket damages for fraudulent misrepresentation permit recovery of the difference between the price paid and the actual value of the property acquired.
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