Expert: Sue Bernstein - 10/19/2007

Question
My sister bought a house, moved in Monday and Tuesday, On
Wednesday she put a load of laundry in, the toilet, sink and bathtub filled with water and flooded the bathroom / laundry room. People she bought if from now tell her it had happened before. This could be costly, what can she do about this, they told her they would not pay and her real estate agent told her to call a lawyer. This seems to be a problem that should have been disclosed before she purchased the home. Any advice I could help her with would
be great Thank You We are in the state of Iowa

Answer
Hi Rhonda,

I am guessing that your sister had an ispection done during the escrow process.  Did the inspector pick up on any plumbing issues.  If this was an ongoing issue with the sellers it should certainly have been a disclosure issue.  If your sister got a home warrantee policy with the purchase that should take care of it except for a minor service charge.  If not, her next best remedy might be to consult an attorney.  If the repair is under the small claims limit she could also take the sellers to small claims court.

Hope this helps.

Sue Bernstein