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Burst water pipe one week after closing.

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Erin & Dave

Guest
We reside in Minnesota. One week after closing on our new home, a water pipe directly outside of the home burst. It took us about 3-4 days to figure out what happened. Once the problem was known, we contacted our real estate agent, who then contacted his broker. The broker stated that the old owners should be liable for a minimum of half. Of course, the prior owners do not want to pay and we are going to arbitration. We are only requesting half because the pipe was buried in the ground outside and we feel that they could not have known about it, but on the other hand, we have done no wear and tear on the pipes and feel 1/2 for each party is fair. Legally, is there any backing to our claim? Where should we search to prepare for the arbitration and what should be done in preperation? Any help to lead us down the correct path would be great. One foot note: Not even sure if this is relevant at all, but at the closing, there was a reinspection that needed to be done by prev. owners and we agreed to have it done to be able to close the sale (inspection not about water at all). If we had not, the old owners would still be residing here and would have been responsible for the full amount. Is this an area to we should present to help us?

Many thanks in advance for your assistance!
 


HomeGuru

Senior Member
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Erin & Dave:
We reside in Minnesota. One week after closing on our new home, a water pipe directly outside of the home burst. It took us about 3-4 days to figure out what happened. Once the problem was known, we contacted our real estate agent, who then contacted his broker. The broker stated that the old owners should be liable for a minimum of half. Of course, the prior owners do not want to pay and we are going to arbitration. We are only requesting half because the pipe was buried in the ground outside and we feel that they could not have known about it, but on the other hand, we have done no wear and tear on the pipes and feel 1/2 for each party is fair. Legally, is there any backing to our claim? Where should we search to prepare for the arbitration and what should be done in preperation? Any help to lead us down the correct path would be great. One foot note: Not even sure if this is relevant at all, but at the closing, there was a reinspection that needed to be done by prev. owners and we agreed to have it done to be able to close the sale (inspection not about water at all). If we had not, the old owners would still be residing here and would have been responsible for the full amount. Is this an area to we should present to help us?

Many thanks in advance for your assistance!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Based on the information provided, the Seller is not responsible.
 
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TimC

Guest
I concur with HomeGuru. Unless you can establish that the seller was aware of some sort of deficiency that contributed to the problem, it really amounts to nothing more than bad luck.

If the seller did not know, and had no reason to believe that there was a deficiency prior to the sale, then there is no sign of acting in bad faith.
 
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Tracey

Guest
You said they had no way of knowing the pipe was bad. That's the danger when you buy a used house -- things may go wrong the day after you close. If you wanted a guarantee agaisnt undiscoverable defects, you shoudl have put a home warranty condition into your contract.

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This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws. [email protected] - please include some facts so I know who you are!
 

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