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Just curious if there is time frame when a home buyer can try to sue the seller for any house issues. I realize a seller's disclosure and the buyer's inspection should absolve the seller from being sued. The reason I ask is I was speaking with a colleague that they had sold their house and about a year later the buyer was suing them for a water intrusion issue. The seller had notated a moisture experience in a crawl space but the new owners had changed the topography and landscaping since purchasing- to me it sounds like a case of buyers remorse or just sue happy buyers trying to get some extra $$. I'm just curious if there is a time limit as I still hold all my documents from my house sale but at what point can I trash them to avoid a situation as this?
It varies by state based on what's called the statute of limitations, and it depends whether it's being brought as a breach of contract case or a fraud claim for non disclosure.
But one year would be very short and I'm not sure offhand if any state is that short. Generally it's between 3 and 6 years for a contract claim.
But personally I'd keep the paperwork as long as you own the house
Contingency or retainer and hourly? You may get more "willing" counsel if you throw money on the table.
Not that that improves your case or changes any statutes, as cited by emm.
I realize I misunderstood your question about the paperwork on a house you no longer own. For that I'd research the statute of limitations in your jurisdiction and add at least a couple of years onto that, but also think about tax implications and having documentation on that if you were ever audited, and they can go back at least 6 years, but indefinitely in some cases.
Contingency or retainer and hourly? You may get more "willing" counsel if you throw money on the table.
Not that that improves your case or changes any statutes, as cited by emm.
Have recent experience hiring an attorney as a buyer in a case of seller failing to disclose. It's not cheap. I paid $395 an hour and got the legal fees to $15,000 after mediation before folding and deciding not to proceed to the next step of arbitration.
The market had a serious uptick and I found my property up about 15% from the year-earlier purchase price. I made a "business decision" to fold and hold. Property is in a hot California coastal locale.
I personally highly doubt you'll find an attorney willing to represent you on a contingency basis unless there's a personal injury involved.
Attorney fees will eat you alive so proceed with that in mind.
If the buyers changed the topography, how can they expect the previous owner to know that would cause an issue?
In order to sue on disclosure stuff, you have to be able to prove that the other party literally knew something they didn't disclose. You can't assume they should know it. Buyer made a change which changed the way water flowed. How could the previous owner possibly know to disclose a "what if" situation.
Just curious if there is time frame when a home buyer can try to sue the seller for any house issues. I realize a seller's disclosure and the buyer's inspection should absolve the seller from being sued. The reason I ask is I was speaking with a colleague that they had sold their house and about a year later the buyer was suing them for a water intrusion issue. The seller had notated a moisture experience in a crawl space but the new owners had changed the topography and landscaping since purchasing- to me it sounds like a case of buyers remorse or just sue happy buyers trying to get some extra $$. I'm just curious if there is a time limit as I still hold all my documents from my house sale but at what point can I trash them to avoid a situation as this?
I'm dying...I gotta know...what's a moisture experience?
I'm dying...I gotta know...what's a moisture experience?
Like I said this was not my house but my buddy said during heavy, heavy rain there would be moisture in a crawl space, not standing water etc.
His experience just got me thinking of my old house and how long I would need to hold onto all my doc's from my house sale? It just sounded like a b.s. case the new owners were trying to pull to possible obtain more money. Sue happy people.
I think I'd ask the attorney who represented me in that transaction.
In my state, the Buyer would probably (hey, I'm not a lawyer) have to show that you committed fraud by not disclosing something that you obviously knew about, and which it was reasonable (I'm still not a lawyer) that an inspector wouldn't have noted.
Of course, as someone noted above - you'd have to make a business decision eventually. I can sue you because I don't like your name. If you're forced to employ a lawyer, and I have lots of cash to pay mine, the cost of being right could be 10x the cost of caving in. Unless your location has "loser pays".
I watch the home remodel shows on TV, and occasionally there will be an egregious violation, like someone replaced the visible wiring, but illegally connected to old knob-and-tube and buried the junction boxes so nobody would know. That seems like something that should be on the prior owner, not the new one, but that never gets addressed.
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