Disclosure Statement

New Hamshire property. Purchased in May 2001. Disclosure statement stated well had no water quantity problems. Also that well was serviced in 1999 (unclogged). Have since lost water supply to the House. found out from plumber that serviced the well that the last service call resulted in lowering pressure of the pump to extend the life of well which was on borrowed time. Also previous tenant claims pump was running all the time causing excessive electric bills. She recalls the pressure being lowered. What recourse do I have? Small claims? New well will run approx>$2500.

[HomeGuru]

Were the Sellers aware of the problems? If so, well, ya got a case.

This is my dilemma. I believe the seller was aware of the problem. This is based on;
1) The service call to the plumber was from the seller acting on the tenants complaint of high electric bills (pump running all the time)
2) The plumber is quoting me his labor and material to do his part after the well development. As part of the quote is a statement from him on why the work is necessary. EX; Based on last service call in 1999 well was on borrowed time. ECT…
3) The previous tenant has verbally told me that since the service call the water pressure to the home has been very poor. EX: When washing machine is running water supply to the rest of the house is extremely poor.
4) The disclosure statement by the seller states NO water quantity problems. Also the well was serviced (unclogged) in 1999 when in fact the only thing that was done was the pressure was lowered to extend the life of the well.
So I believe the seller knew of the problems and misrepresented his knowledge in the disclosure statement.

What exactly is necessary for me to win a small claims suit? Affidavits from both the plumber and tenant? Do I have a legitimate chance in winning?

[HomeGuru]

I can't tell you exactly what is needed to win since I am not the judge.
I suggest reading some books on winning in small claims court. There are at least 5 that I am aware of.
It appears though, that you have a good case to prevail.

you did'nt mention how old the pump or well is but alot of well pumps carry 5 or even 10 year warranties if thats any help.also you mentioned $2500 for a new well-do you mean it has to be re-cased or is that just to pull and install new pump?

Apparently I have a gravel packed, shallow, or two pipe well system. I get lost in the symantics. The well runs about 40-50 feet down with the pump mounted in a casement about 10 feet in ground. Anyway the well will have to be redrilled, the pump replaced and maybe plumbimg be brought up to code. The well development has to be new due to the two pipe system being corroded and they cannot pull the pipes and replace them and gaureentee success. Also the well system and pump is 13 years old and the in a life span is 12 -15 years for this system. Yes I can spend upwards of $1500 for an almost lost cause trying to repir the existing well and then do the well development but the $1500 would be just written off due to labor. and I would have to spend $2500 to start all over.