Turnover Contract

we recently bought a home in michigan and signed a contract to have the seller complete certain details prior to our move in. She completed most of the details but she left 3 dogs in the house alone for days on end and trashed the rest of the house while moving out. we had to spend excess vacation time and money cleaning and hauling trash away before we could move in and almost all of the carpet needs to be replaced. she also neglected to disclose a neighborhood legal covenant stating we had to have a paved drive and certain size trees in within 6 months of the completion of the house which actually fell during her occupation of the home. the cost of projects to exceed $8000. we filed a small claims suit and she got a lawyer and took it into civil court and is now threatening us to counter sue for a frivilous law suit. we cannot afford a lawyer and will have to represent ourselves. do we have any recourse and could she possibly win and we end up losing even more money.

[JETX]

Q: "do we have any recourse and could she possibly win and we end up losing even more money."
A: Let me answer your last question, since it is the easiest. Of course she "could possibly win". And if she does win, you could be liable for her attorney fees.

[HomeGuru]

I may add, where was your Realtor or real estate attorney in the transaction?
It is general practice to do a final walk-through inspection a few days prior to closing to confirm the condition of the property, completion of repairs etc.
Why was this not done?