What are my rights if the buyer’s contract showed false information?
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What are my rights if the buyer’s contract showed false information?
I bought a home on sewer only to find out 3 years later I’m on septic. The seller’s disclosure listed septic to the best of knowledge. House listed sewer paid in full, my contract listed sewer and closed escrow without septic being pumped or certified because the entire was assured that I was on sewer.
Asked on July 16, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
You write that the contract listed sewer. Since you did not get "sewer," or what the contract promised, you could potentially sue for the monetary costs the breach caused you--such as the cost to pump out and service the septic. You would sue based on breach of contract, or violation of the contract's plain terms. But note the following:
1) There is no compensation for the the spent on this--the law simply does not provide compensation for your own time.
2) If the seller's disclosure listed septic, then you were on notice that it likely septic. That means that, given that knowledge, a court (i.e. in a lawsuit) could potentially find that the listing of "sewer" was simply an obvious typo or error (since the parties knew it was septic instead) and so is not enforceable (obvious errors in contracts are not enforced).
So you could sue and lose; or sue and win, but get less than you hope, since there is no compensation for time.
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