Q: I bought a house in Missouri 2021. my foundation started bowing ,2 chimneys also. Never informed of severity in the
Inspection report. Also, the previous owners said they lived in the house for last 3 months. Never happened. The shower drain wasn't even hooked up! All the water drained right into the foundation which literally has dust as mortar! The foundation started failing immediately after I moved in. Is there any recourse?
A:
Based on the limited information provided, you could possibly have an action for failing to disclose known defects against the sellers of the property. In such an action, you would have the burden of proving that the sellers knew of the defects in the foundation and knowingly failed to disclose those defects.
A potential additional or alternate defendant is the inspection company. This is a little bit different. You would have the burden of proving that the type of defects you are experiencing would have been identified by another inspection company in your area; and/or that the area affected would or should have been inspected by your inspection company and they failed to do so and if they would have, they would have seen the defects that are affecting you now.
You should review all the pertinent facts of your situation with a real estate attorney to determine whether you have a valid claim.
A: Look for a local attorney familiar with the Merchandising Practices Act (MPA). The MPA is Missouri's consumer protection statute and is often used in failure-to-disclose cases.
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