drainage issues

[bivad]

When we purchased our home in April 1999, the seller marked on the seller's disclosure that there were no drainage problems with the lot.The property is located in Kansas City, Missouri. When it rains we have standing water on the side and rear of our property. I have spoken with numerous neighbors and they have all told me that sellers had the some issues with the property. On October 4, 1998, Kansas City had flooding rains. Per convesations with the neighbors, there was standing water on the property after this flood. The fun thing is that the sellers signed the above disclosure on October 28, 1998. I have received some bids on handling the drainage matter that involve re-grading and re-sodding my yard. Is this something that seller and/or real estate broker should have to resolve? What are my rights as the homebuyer? We would not have purchased this house knowing about the drainage problems.

 

[HomeGuru]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bivad:
When we purchased our home in April 1999, the seller marked on the seller's disclosure that there were no drainage problems with the lot.The property is located in Kansas City, Missouri. When it rains we have standing water on the side and rear of our property. I have spoken with numerous neighbors and they have all told me that sellers had the some issues with the property. On October 4, 1998, Kansas City had flooding rains. Per convesations with the neighbors, there was standing water on the property after this flood. The fun thing is that the sellers signed the above disclosure on October 28, 1998. I have received some bids on handling the drainage matter that involve re-grading and re-sodding my yard. Is this something that seller and/or real estate broker should have to resolve? What are my rights as the homebuyer? We would not have purchased this house knowing about the drainage problems.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The Seller should have disclosed the flooding/drainage problem as the condition is a material fact. You need to get the estimate and ask the Seller to pay for the remdial work. If the Seller refuses, hire an attorney to file a property disclosure claim for misrepresentation etc. If the real estate agent was aware of the problems the agent is also liable.