Q: Is a seller liable after closing for misstatements made on disclosure statement.
After closing on my home, but before moving in, my neighbor had his property surveyed. Among other things, there is a semi permanent structure built by the sellers husband, who is deceased, that the survey shows is encroaching on his property. On the Disclosure Statement, the seller stated there were no encroachment issues with the property. The neighbor states he told the husband he was building over the property line before the husband died. The neighbor wants the encroaching fixtures, including the semi permanent structure, removed from his property due to liability issues. Best guess is this will cost me several thousand dollars. Does the seller have any liability? I also found out the finished basement apparently had no permits pulled as required even though seller stated no work was done without permits. This could also cost a fair amount of money due to possible fines, licensed contractors to fix possible violations, etc.. Does seller have any liability for costs on this issue.
A: Just going into the initial question in the title. It is possible you'll have some options. But, you'll want to talk to an attorney about your case, if any.
A:
The answer to this question is: maybe. There are two different issues. The first is the encroachment onto the neighbor's property. The second is the basement work done without proper permits.
As to the first (encroachment issue), the seller would not be liable to you for that unless the seller had represented to you in the purchase agreement that there were no encroachments onto neighboring property. Most purchase agreements include a provision to enable the buyer to have a stake survey done prior to close. Most buyers waiver this provision, for better or for worse. Failure to have a survey done prior to close that would've discovered the encroachment onto the neighboring property is a risk borne by the buyer. So unless the seller actually told you before closing that there were no problems with encroachments onto neighboring property, you're probably out of luck there.
As to the second (permits) issue, if the seller represented to you before close that all required permits were pulled but they were not, you may have a valid claim against the seller for that. The theories that could be pursued for that include fraud, misrepresentation, innocent representation, and possibly breach of warranty of title if you received a warranty deed for the property. In order to pursue this, I recommend you schedule an in-person consult with an experienced real estate attorney in your area.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
