Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Alabama

House didn't have sprinklers, false advertising?

Last year we purchased a home, according to the MLS fact sheet there was supposed to be a full auto sprinkler system. Our seller's disclosure sheet didn't indicate that there was an error, so we assumed everything was correct. When the 2 feet of snow melted, we noticed that there was no sprinkler system installed. The seller's have had the house for sale for close to a year and never changed the ''error'' on the MLS sheet. I feel that they intentionally misled us. Would it be worth our time to take them to small claims court? Shouldn't the seller's disclosure list errors on the MLS report?


Asked on 3/05/03, 3:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Alvin Lundgren Alvin R. Lundgren, L.C.

Re: House didn't have sprinklers, false advertising?

You can take the sellers and probably the listing realtor to court for the sprinkling system. That could be considered a material fact - meaning a fact which could have changed your buying decision. Tell the sellers and listing realtor that they can avoid court by paying for a sprinkling system. You should be willing to be reasonable in negotiating because the inspection you are required to do should have revealed that there were no sprinkling controls visible. Therefore the sellers are liable for only a basic manual system, not for a fully automatic system.

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Answered on 3/05/03, 9:41 am


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