Expert: Jessica Bryan - 6/2/2007

Question
I recently bought a town house condo.  I had a full inspection done in which the inspector gave a clean bill on the condo.  We bought and moved in  but have found two leaks. One looks like it might be only minor.  The other is major and is coming from the shower.  It is has been like this for some time because we notice water in the kitchen after our first shower.  We also notice that it is very damp (black mold) behind the new kitchen cabinets and it has been covered up by the previous owner.  Had we seen this before hand we would never have bought this house.  We bought it based on an inspection and the real estate agent advise, who by the way,  was representing me and the seller. I don't know what she knew.... but for sure the previous owner knew about it.  This could be very costly.  Unfortunately, I am a single female and am not good at fixing things. My family lives about 350 miles away.  There were some other problems, that were a breech of the original offer, for instance both toilets and the dishwasher did not work.  My dad helped me with the toilet but I could not do anything with dishwasher.  How should I handle this?  Should I get a lawyer.  Do I have a good case?  I am very worried about the black mould.  Thank you for any advise or information you could help me with.  

Answer
Hello Melissa;
I am very sorry to read about your problems.  Once you close on a house it is very difficult to take any legal action but since you seem to think that the previous owner was well aware of the leaks an problems perhaps you might have a chance to sue for damages or costs.  You should talk to the closing attorney and explain the situation and get his/her advice on the matter as soon as possible.  I certainly hope that you have documented and photographed all of the problems.  The more proof you have the better your case.

I also want to say that it is unlikely that the seller told the listing agent about the problems even if the seller was aware of them, but if you can prove that the agent knew of the leaks, you can file a formal complaint against the agent as well.

Good luck and best wishes,
Jessica Bryan