Sellers misrepresented condition of home

[sailor50]

We purchased an older home in a small Arizona town. Many deficiencies have shown up and we did have a lawyer go after the seller for plumbing problems. A few weeks ago the county assessor showed up and informed us that 38% of the house did not show on their records; our taxes will rise substantially. Apparently, the additions were not done with permits and bonafide contractors. Several months ago when we used the lawyer, we did sign a release that we would not again pursue the seller for deficiencies in the property. Therefore, do you think we have a chance to go after them again? After we signed that release, we did have additional expenses of replacing the furnace and its ductwork. Thank you!

 

[msattorney]

I would check out my title insurance policy to see if they should be held responsible for not locating the additions on the house that were not being taxed. There should have been an appraisal on the house which would have indicated these additions. I'm not sure whether you can go after the seller again. It depends on whether anything fraudulent was done on their part--did they know they were not being taxed on the additions, did they sign a statement that all work on the house was done with permits etc. I would talk to a real estate lawyer about this after I had gathered some of these facts.