Maine disclosure law, pipes burst, water hadn't been on for 3yrs, can i sue

[greenetea]

What is the name of your state?Maine

I just bought a house and did not have it inspected before buying. Upon moving in, I found that the pipes were burst. I found out that the water had not been turned on for several years, so consequently the pipes had burst. On the disclosure form for plumbing the seller had put "don't know". I have since found out that pipes will burst if the water is turned off in a cold climate for an extended period of time. (I moved from Texas). This seems to me something that the seller reasonably could have known and should have disclosed. Is is possible to sue about this? I know Maine does have a disclosure law.

There were also repairs that were supposed to be made as a precondition of the sale. These were not made. There were other fairly extensive repairs and improvements that were needed (I expected that there would be some). So this is all starting to add up. It's been a while (less than a year), but I've been so busy with moving and settling in and making all these repairs that I haven't had time to think, plus it's an unpleasant business. I was very disappointed that the repairs that we agreed upon and which were put in writing were not made, but I've just been avoiding the whole issue. However I really can't afford all of this! Is it possible to recover lawyer's fees if I do sue? Is it a problem that I haven't acted sooner? I'm really not the type of person to sue someone, but at this point I've spent more than I feel I should have....

Thanks for any help!!

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by greenetea

What is the name of your state?Maine

I just bought a house and did not have it inspected before buying.

**A: why not?
********

Upon moving in, I found that the pipes were burst. I found out that the water had not been turned on for several years, so consequently the pipes had burst. On the disclosure form for plumbing the seller had put "don't know". I have since found out that pipes will burst if the water is turned off in a cold climate for an extended period of time. (I moved from Texas). This seems to me something that the seller reasonably could have known and should have disclosed. Is is possible to sue about this? I know Maine does have a disclosure law.

There were also repairs that were supposed to be made as a precondition of the sale. These were not made. There were other fairly extensive repairs and improvements that were needed (I expected that there would be some). So this is all starting to add up. It's been a while (less than a year), but I've been so busy with moving and settling in and making all these repairs that I haven't had time to think, plus it's an unpleasant business. I was very disappointed that the repairs that we agreed upon and which were put in writing were not made, but I've just been avoiding the whole issue. However I really can't afford all of this! Is it possible to recover lawyer's fees if I do sue? Is it a problem that I haven't acted sooner? I'm really not the type of person to sue someone, but at this point I've spent more than I feel I should have....

Thanks for any help!!

**A: then you need an attorney like now.

[greenetea]

I would not make the same mistake twice, I was a first time home buyer with no contacts in the state. The house appeared to be in good shape, and sold for an affordable price (although it did stretch my budget). I did have a buyers agent, and I thought that he would protect my interests, which he did to some extend by including the one precondition clause, though I think now he should have included plumbing as a matter of course, since the water was turned off and we could not test it -- for that matter I think my agent should have informed me about pipes freezing when they are turned off, it's seems stupid (and clearly, I was), but as an out-of-state buyer I'd never considered frozen pipes. I think my buyers agent may have been kind of inexperienced. (I later learned that he had transitioned to a real estate career pretty recently.) He personally told me not to worry about the issue which was in the precondition clause, that he would "make sure" it was taken care of before I moved in from out of state. That did not happen, an as a result my first few weeks in the house were quite traumatic and extremely uncomfortable, but he got his commission just fine, and never gave another thought about me!

The seller is pretty well connected in the community (he owns a lot of real estate) so I am a little worried about contacting a local real estate attorney.

Thanks!