Expert: Karyn Foley - 9/1/2008

Question
My husband and I recently purchased our first home in California. We did not have a home inspection, because we could not afford it. My husband, however did do a walk through with our Real Estate Agent before we purchased the home. One of the things that was requested when my husband did the walk through was to look in the garage. My husband and our Real Estate Agent were told that they could not go into the garage because "there were boxe in the garage. We moved in approximately 10 days before escrow closed in which we did an interim occupancy with the sellers of the home. The sellers of the home signed the final escrow papers before they left town and we signed approximately 10 days later. The day that we moved in, we were finally able to look in the garage and we found a 10'X 3-4' X 3-4' oil sump (oil pit) in the floor of the garage. Both the seller and the seller's agent marked the box on the disclosure statement that there were no environmental hazards on the property.
Do we have any legal recourse at all?
Plese help.

Thanks

Answer
Dear Trudy:  Please understand that I cannot "practice law without a license" and thus, cannot give you legal advise.  But I will address your questions, and then urge you to see legal counsel.   No one can not afford to have a home inspection; you save a few hundred and it cost you much more than that.  Bad mistake.  Locked or closed rooms are a danger sign, and so I feel you were not well represented by your agent, and the seller's agent owed you a fair and honest treatment too which was not there.  There was a cover up and I cannot tell how many and who were involved, but I suspect the seller's agent might have known something but certainly the seller had a moral, ethical, and (up to the lawyer to confirm) a legal obligation to make the disclosure about what you later found.  But what I am wondering is that since you moved in before the escrow closed, how could you not have looked in the garage and then just closed anyway without speaking up and getting sound direction?  A reasonable and questioning person would have opened up the garage either to find out what was in there and/or to pull in your car.  How
could you have just sat back and said or did nothing?  You had ten days to make your discoverage and speak up before closing!  I am pleased that you have the disclosure that the seller signed, but did your seller know it was an environmental hazard?  Is it a hazard, or just a nuisance?  Either way, however, it was a fact that should have been mentioned to you.  Hire a real estate attorney as soon as you can, and don't wait until another ten days go by.  Karyn Foley