In article , J.A. Michel says...


"Chris" wrote in message
roups.com...
Does anyone know what the statute of limitiations in the state of
maryland is for filing a suit against a home seller and or a real
estate agent for not disclosing a defect, and possibly making a
fraudulent claim about the house's integrity?

short story--

house was advertised to me as having waterproof basement. not so. half
of the basement has a french drain. the other half has a trench to
collect water and divert it to the drain..

I have consulted a few people about this.. they said "Oh, that's the
old way of doing it." (the drain was installed in the 80's.) but, a
water proofing company was here tonight, and flat out told me that
whatever I was told was wrong-- that it is not a waterproofed
basement.. and, I could bring this against the seller and the real
estate agent. Only half of the basement is water proofed, the other
half is some hodgepodge system that was probably done by the old
owner. He only had the half that was a real problem done, and just
fudged the rest (even putting up wood panelled walls up to hide the
trench.

I wasn't paying this any mind, because whatever this system was was
working ok and I just thought it was the "old way", but I found an
area that isn't, and it is getting worse.. and it was masked by the
makeshift wall..

I have lived in the house for 2 1/4 years.. the guy here tonight
thinks that the statute is 3 years.


There's no such thing as a waterproof basement.
Getting the home inspected prior to buying might have been a good idea.


The inspection likely would have missed it, it being on the other side of a
wall.

You're right that this all depends on the definition of "waterproofed". What I
think he describes is an older-type "cove" system. That is one way of dealing
with it. A waterproofing company saying it wasn't waterproofed is no more than
a sales pitch to have their system put in instead, hoping you'd contract with
them expecting some future settlement!

So, in pursuing this legally, he faces:

1. What he or the owner meant by "waterproofed". He'd need an engineer, and a
*disinterested* engineer, to make a statement on that.

2. If the previous owner intended to cover up. It isnt' known when the wall
went up. Was the previous owner the first owner of the house?? And, again,
there's the whole question if he truly honestly considered it waterproofed. And
if that may possibly may *still* be said, only that the waterproofing system
needs some repair.

I agree with others here - best to put the money to a solution. The first thing
I see that needs to be done is for him to consult an independant engineer.

Banty