Q: Can I sue the developer that sold me a building lot with poor soil?
I purchased a building lot in a known subdivision from the developer of the subdivision in the City of WinstonSalem(North Carolina). After the contractor dug for the footing , the footing city inspector asked for a soil test. We hired a soil test engineer and we discovered the soil was not suitable to support the foundation. He dug to additional 10 feet below the footer and didn’t find a good soil to build. The remedy is helical piles to be utilized which will add an additional $30,000 - $40000 to the cost of our house. We assumed that purchasing the building lot would mean that the lot would be suitable for building a house. After reviewing the signed contract, there is nothing mentioned about the soil in the contract.
I feel the seller knew there were soil problems. this fact should have been more prominently disclosed before we purchased the lot. Do I have any recourse against the seller?
A: Without reading the contract, I can't answer this, but it will likely not be easy to prove. You must prove that the seller knew of the condition and had a duty to disclose it.
A: If the contract mentions nothing about soil, a question that might arise is why a test was not performed prior to planning foundation. One option could be to reach out to an attorney to discuss in further detail. Be prepared for questions to support your position that there was an issue of non-disclosure about a known condition. Good luck
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