I am soooo IRKED

[quincy]

terp -

Did you have a settlement agent?

When water and sewer lines were put in on the old dirt road I live on, we not only had to pay for the installation along the road, but hook-ups to the house, as well, and any landscaping that was destroyed during the course of installation. It was extremely expensive. And our water bills have been OUTRAGEOUS every since, too. Sure do miss my free well water and free septic.

At any rate, I understand how upsetting it can be to be faced with additional unexpected costs - and I believe Maryland specifically changed their real estate laws (in 2005) to require full disclosure from purchaser's settlement agents, to cover situations just like this.

I am not a lawyer, but I would think there could be some liability on the part of the agent. Right, you attorneys out there??

 

[terp]

yes we had a settlement agent assigned. Should I contact them?

 

[quincy]

I would hang out on the forum a while longer, before making any contact with your settlement agent, to see if someone with experience in Maryland real estate law posts. Hopefully HomeGuru or one of the forum attorneys can point you in the right direction.

And you can always consult with a Maryland attorney, too, to see if they think there is a legitimate cause of action (initial consultations are often free).

 

[terp]

thank you, I think I will!

 

[helpforfriend]

the seller is only required to disclose information that you specifically ask for, and hes supposed to tell you if someone died in the house in most states, but thats about it, in most states they are required to disclose any damage to the property such as every time it rains part of the house floods, but as for something that will hurt you financially in the future, he didnt need to tell you that

 

[quincy]

Maryland law makes the settlement agent responsible for disclosing information that can affect a purchaser's decision to buy, however - the seller is responsible for only disclosing known house defects.

The Maryland Consumer Protection Act specifically prohibits "deception, fraud, false pretense, false premise, misrepresentation, or knowing concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact" in the sale of realty. Check out Md. Code Ann., Comm. Law Section 13-101, et seq.