Legal advice

[67 ss 396]

Hey guys I need some help. I sold my house about 2 months ago and everything was fine, or so I thought. Today I got served, being sued for breach of contract because they buyer is saying that the house floods. it never flooded in the 3 years we lived there. any one have any advice. thanks I had to vent

[nancejd]

Get a good lawyer. Make their life miserable until they go away.

[baz67]

The best advice that can be given is get a great lawyer. Real estate laws vary from state to state so any advice you get here may not apply to you. Sorry and good luck.
Brian

[Radio Joe]

A lawyer definitely!!!!

Didnt they have the house inspected before they bought it? To say you are in breach of contract they would need to prove you knew... In order to prove it there would have to be evidence of past flooding. If there was evidence of past flooding and inspector should have caught that.... If the inspector did and told them, then they are at fault for buying it.



just my 2cents

[dennis68]

I went through something similar when i bought my last house. It is soooo hard to prove "failure to disclose" which is what they are claiming i am sure. Retain a lawyer but you probably won't need him, it's totally on their shoulders to prove you knew and withheld information about the flood level of the area, without substantial and obvious damage that is going to be pretty tough.

When we bought our last house the water had been off for several months prior during winter, I made a "surprise" trip to the property before escrow closed to see a plumbing truck out front, when i walked in a saw the previous owners and a plumber starring at a hole in the middle of the kitchen floor and looking at rusted pipes. I left and called my agent, before we could do anything they had "patched" the pipe and closed the hole. This house was built on post-tension foundation and you are not allowed to open the floor with an engineer present. We tried getting some money out of the deal, wound costing 5K out of pocket to get floor fixed correctly and re-plumb the house (did that ourselves). Never got 1-cent from the original owners even though I walked in to see everything, that is how difficult it is to prove anything after the fact.

[chicane67]

Start off with the easy part. Ask them for their proof....they have to disclose this information to you.

Next. A realestate Lawyer....and threaten to counter sue.

[BAD6SPD]

Is the house built on a flood plain? The city offices should be able to tell you that. If not, tell them to get bent and prove it.

[derekf]

Talk to your realtor. They're likely being sued as well, they've got E&O (Errors and Omissions) insurance for this very case.

I talked to my realtor, not that she's involved in this or anything. She said:

The buyer needs to prove (as was mentioned) that it's happened before and that you knew about it (withheld the information). If the house never flooded, they'd be hard-pressed to prove it happened and you won't need a lawyer.

I've actually known a couple whose house flooded every time it rained in multiple rooms. They did indeed withhold the information, and were indeed sued.. unsuccessfully. It's really hard to prove that you knew.

[OHCbird]

1. Does your state require Flood Certification (like FL)?

2. Do as BAD6SPD said- find out if the area is considered a flood plain, or a natural runoff area. Shouldn't cost ya a cent.

Have they even told you what prompted this?