misrepresentation of floors in home

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

We purchased a home last December. The home was advertised as having "hardwood oak floor throughout". As we began to pull up carpets after moving in, we discovered there were in fact no hardwood floors in the home except for the two rooms the sellers added to the original home. We have since come to find out that there was fire in the home before the sellers bought the home and the floors were damaged and replaced with plywood. The sellers disclosed none of this on the disclosure sheet saying only that they knew of no damage to the flooring. We feel that the sellers intentionally misrepresented the house and since hardwood floors are reflected in the price of a home that the owners should pay for installation of hardwood floors. We were looking for a home with hardwood floors and thought that since it was listed three separate places with "hardwood oak floor throughout" and was listed as a selling feature that the home indeed had hardwood floors. I should also mention that as four of five members in the home have asthma, harwood flooring was a necessary feature of any home we purchased. Do we have a case?

Lisa

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by Lisa Emery
[b]What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

We purchased a home last December. The home was advertised as having "hardwood oak floor throughout". As we began to pull up carpets after moving in, we discovered there were in fact no hardwood floors in the home except for the two rooms the sellers added to the original home. We have since come to find out that there was fire in the home before the sellers bought the home and the floors were damaged and replaced with plywood. The sellers disclosed none of this on the disclosure sheet saying only that they knew of no damage to the flooring. We feel that the sellers intentionally misrepresented the house and since hardwood floors are reflected in the price of a home that the owners should pay for installation of hardwood floors. We were looking for a home with hardwood floors and thought that since it was listed three separate places with "hardwood oak floor throughout" and was listed as a selling feature that the home indeed had hardwood floors. I should also mention that as four of five members in the home have asthma, harwood flooring was a necessary feature of any home we purchased. Do we have a case?

Lisa

**A: yes you do have a case provided that the Seller was aware of the problems. Hire a real estate attorney that specializes in seller disclosure litigation.

[FarmerJ]

Will your fire dept give you a copy of any fire chiefs report or incidents occuring at your address ? maybe they could tell you the date the fire happend ?

[HomeGuru]

To the writer:
Keep us posted.
What did your Realtor say about the problem?
Do you know who the insurance company was for the Seller?
Maybe they could give you information on the fire.

What is the name of your state? Pennsylvania

Keeping you posted. Our realtor told us to first contact the realtor who listed the home along with the real estate office and sellers. We wrote to them and told them of the problem and received no response at all. The fire, which I have come to find out, happened BEFORE the sellers purchased the home. In fact that is why the house was sold to our sellers(the owner died in the fire). The house was subsequently fixed up and sold to the people from whom we purchased the home. I am absolutely sure the sellers (our sellers) knew about the fire (neighbors have told me such). The sellers also said there was new carpeting in the home which leads me to believe they had to have seen the floors if they indeed put in the new carpeting. I would like to go through with a law suit if I knew it would have a good chance of proceeding in court. We have also found out that two rooms do have wood flooring under the carpet but the flooring is warped and would not be able to matched up to any wood flooring we lay to replace the connecting plywood floors. We have gotten estimates for the flooring and have been told as much.

[HomeGuru]

Ok, now you need to hire a real estate attorney that specialzes in seller disclosure cases.
Did you ask for a copy of the seller disclosure statement and home inspection report that was completed at the time your Seller bought the property?

Yes, I have a copy of the disclosure statement and the home inspection. Apparently the home inspection does not look at the floors under the carpet but on the disclosure statement the sellers check that they knew of no damage to the floors. They aslo claim in their listing of the home that new carpet was laid over some of the wood floors so I would asume they would know the condition of at least some of the flooring. A little twist of fate is that my son has the female seller as his teacher in sixth grade. Unbelieveably she shared a poem in class just the other day about how the home she used to live in was in a fire not even a year before she purchased it and it was badly damaged and had to be fixed up(she also made reference to the fact that the original ownwer died in the fire). Would this be good enough proof that the sellers knew the condition of the floors before selling? I am contacting a lawyer as you suggested but would appreciate just one more answer from you on this question. Thanks for your help!

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by Lisa Emery
[b]Yes, I have a copy of the disclosure statement and the home inspection. Apparently the home inspection does not look at the floors under the carpet but on the disclosure statement the sellers check that they knew of no damage to the floors. They aslo claim in their listing of the home that new carpet was laid over some of the wood floors so I would asume they would know the condition of at least some of the flooring. A little twist of fate is that my son has the female seller as his teacher in sixth grade. Unbelieveably she shared a poem in class just the other day about how the home she used to live in was in a fire not even a year before she purchased it and it was badly damaged and had to be fixed up(she also made reference to the fact that the original ownwer died in the fire). Would this be good enough proof that the sellers knew the condition of the floors before selling? I am contacting a lawyer as you suggested but would appreciate just one more answer from you on this question. Thanks for your help!

**A: please read my post again.
The documents I referenced were documents provided when your Seller bought the home as given to her by her Seller.

Oops! I did not read thoroughly. Gotcha. No, I do not have a copy of the disclosure statement from when my seller purchased the home. Is there a way I can obtain it? I had no idea it was even something I should ask for. Thanks again for answering my questions.

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by Lisa Emery
[b]Oops! I did not read thoroughly. Gotcha. No, I do not have a copy of the disclosure statement from when my seller purchased the home. Is there a way I can obtain it? I had no idea it was even something I should ask for. Thanks again for answering my questions.

**A: those documents would be something to ask for as a condition of the sale. Now it is too late. I highly doubt that the Seller would give them up at this stage.

If taken to court, can the seller be compelled to produce the disclosure sheets from when they purchased the home?

[HomeGuru]

[quote]Originally posted by Lisa Emery
[b]If taken to court, can the seller be compelled to produce the disclosure sheets from when they purchased the home?

**A: yes, through the discovery stage specifically titled production of documents. The combination of interogatories, production of documents and depositions usually gathers the evidence needed in similar cases.

Thank you ever so much for all of your help. Now I need to decide whether or not to pursue the sellers in court. I would like to get them to be responsible for installing hardwood floors in my home as that is what I thought I was getting and that is what was listed as a special selling feature of the home. It is unfortunate that people lie hoping they will get a way with it. Had they been upfront we may have still purchased the home at a lower price and installed the floor ourselves. thanks again.

[HomeGuru]

We appreciate your kind words.
Good luck to you and please do keep us posted.

[BrokerRE]

In my state (michigan) We are required to keep transactions on file for 5 years. We often keep longer, maybe you could find out who the listing and selling agents were for your sellers, and find out if they still have the paperwork for that transaction.

Since they are not involved directly in the transaction, you may get good cooperation.

Just a suggestion