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Banty

In article .com,
says...

On Jun 4, 3:04=EF=BF=BDpm, "dnoyeB" wrote:
On Fri, 01 Jun 2007 08:44:59 -0700, Banty wrote:

What the lawyer will go through with one is not only the points of the
law, but what can be shown in court. =A0The conclusion often is not be =
the
satisfying and lucrative one that people seem to envision when they give
this advice.

I had water problems - there was evidence of previous water problems in
the house, but no way to show proof that the current sump pump and cove
system on one side of the basement to address that, didn't fix it.
Basement was mostly finished and in apparent active use. =A0Water was
coming in the *other* side - the side with no efflorescence, etc., to
show previous problems. =A0So - how do I prove it wasn't a change since=
I
moved in? =A0Get neighbors to turn the previous owner in? =A0But they o=
nly
moved one county away, and still keep friendships going. =A0And I have =
to
live next to them, pushing too far might give me another set of
problems.

So, in practicality, it's buyer beware + fix the problems you do find.

Banty

The lawyer can subpoena repair records from the previous owner. =A0Perhaps
credit card charges or similar stuff looking for plumbing bills related to
the water problem. =A0A private investigator can be hired. =A0if the prev=
ious
owner is caught lying, and compounding it by lying in court, hes gonna pay
a nice toll.

??

What plumbing bills would related to a basement moisture intrusion problem ???

Still not easy, but it is doable.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

one must be careful the cost to do all this doesnt exceed the cost of
repairs.

Yep. And, I hardly think repair records are like a pilot's flight logs -
they're of course not required of a homeowner; there is a good chance nothing
like that exists. Even if there are, think of all the DIY, cash transactions,
stuff simply left unrepaired. You can spend a pretty penney for not much, very
quickly and very likely.

Not that we shouldn't disclose (I certainly plan to - but I have or will correct
the problems I know of), or that in some cases an undisclosed problem should be
pursued with the previous owner.

But this idea that pops up here in alt.home.repair from time to time that
there's always recourse and disclosure laws "protect" one is folly. It really
doesn't work that way all that often, and several things need to go in one's
favor to be able to prove an intentional non-discosure. The best course is to
carefully look over any house considered to be bought, and be prepared
(including financially) to make repairs as time goes on.

Banty