misrepresentation?

[Donnab1957]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maine
I purchased a two family home in Oct 2004, due to a death in the family I have been trying to sell the home. AT the time of purchase the second unit was sold to me as a 3-4 bedroom apartment. Within the last few weeks I had a furnace problem, the code enforcement officer came to the property, during our discussion it was disclosed to me that two of the "bedrooms" were not bedrooms at all because they were on the 3rd floor and there was no permanent fire escape installed. Is this misrepresentation? This was never mentioned to me by the home inspector or the sellers real estate representative and now I can not list the unit as 2-3 bedrooms which is hindering my re-sale of the property. What (if any) are my rights?
Thank you for all feedback.

[FlyingRon]

Do you have the representation of the rental unit in writing?
Was the seller or real estate agent aware of the deficiency in the code of the additional unit?

[Donnab1957]

I do, but I am not sure whether the seller or real estate rep knew about the code. Should the home inspector know the local codes? These rooms were specifically remodeled to represent bedrooms by the previous owners.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by Donnab1957

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Maine
I purchased a two family home in Oct 2004, due to a death in the family I have been trying to sell the home. AT the time of purchase the second unit was sold to me as a 3-4 bedroom apartment. Within the last few weeks I had a furnace problem, the code enforcement officer came to the property, during our discussion it was disclosed to me that two of the "bedrooms" were not bedrooms at all because they were on the 3rd floor and there was no permanent fire escape installed. Is this misrepresentation? This was never mentioned to me by the home inspector or the sellers real estate representative and now I can not list the unit as 2-3 bedrooms which is hindering my re-sale of the property. What (if any) are my rights?
Thank you for all feedback.

**A: did you not have a building and zoning check prior to closing? What did the seller disclosure statement say about the unpermitted area?

[Donnab1957]

I just got a copy of the listing from when I purchased the property, it states that there are 3 bedrooms on the first floor and 4 bedrooms on the 2nd/3rd floor. Does anyone know if I have ANY rights at all, I was definitely mislead on this deal and as I said now I can not list this property as such and stand to lose out big time, I am facing foreclosure and MUST sell this place ASAP.

[FlyingRon]

The LISTING means squat. You can never rely on it (it almost certainly bears as caveat to that effect). Unless you have specific representations written by the seller to YOU you are out of luck. If the seller did not make those representations, and was not in fact aware of the zoning/code issues, then you likely have no recourse.

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by Donnab1957

I just got a copy of the listing from when I purchased the property, it states that there are 3 bedrooms on the first floor and 4 bedrooms on the 2nd/3rd floor. Does anyone know if I have ANY rights at all, I was definitely mislead on this deal and as I said now I can not list this property as such and stand to lose out big time, I am facing foreclosure and MUST sell this place ASAP.

**A: please read my post very carefully and respond accordingly.