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Took my driveway and part of my yard

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BlueLT

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Tennessee

I put a bid on my house in the first of October 2005 and gave my ernest money. The real estate agent told me that the driveway and the garage on this property belonged to this property and at that time it did. The contractor selling the house divided the land in November 2005 which took half of my garage and all of my lower driveway to use it for a house he was building on another lot. I was never informed in any way by the seller or real estate agent that he had divided the land and took that part of the property. We closed on the house in December 2005 and this month April 2006 I walk out side to find stakes in my yard which run right threw the middle of my garage.

I thought that once I placed my bid on the property that he could not change it in any way without some kind of notice to me. Everything he was going to do to the house like change the carpet and paint the inside was on the contract but nothing about him subdividing the land to use for another home on another lot. I have hired a lawyer but before I go further I want to know if I have a case. I am not rich so I don't want to pay for all this if I can't get the land I was suppose to have to start with.
 


nextwife

Senior Member
WHAT did the title commitment state that he'd be conveying to you? Is the legal description on your title commitment DIFFERENT than what was conveyed? Was the division NOT reflected in what the title commitment showed that you were buying?
 

GaAtty

Member
I think you have a good case for fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of warranty. There is absolutely no way that the contractor could be ignorant of the fact that you did not know you were buying a house with half of a garage. It was clearly represented to be the entire house (and why would you think otherwise?), and he made no effort to correct the misrepresentation, and he had a duty to make that correction. By being the contractor who built the property, he had superior knowledge of the property, and because he is the builder, he has a certain duty to disclose. He also gave a warranty because he was the builder. Even if it wasn't a written warranty, he gave an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose. That is, he gave an implied warranty that the house would be fit for most purposes that a house is expected to be fit for. That doesn't include having half of a garage. However, you might want to consider removing the stakes, having your attorney (or you ) send him a letter immediately telling him to refrain from trespassing on your property, and if he argues that it is his property, then off to court you go. It is also likely that you can get an injunction from a court preventing him from trespassing or tearing down your garage until the matter is resolved. You need an attorney to do that, it's too complicated otherwise.
 

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