Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

The first and most important thing for you to do is have the crack investigated by a reputable contractor, preferably one with extensive concrete slab experience, and all the better if they have one or more engineers on staff. Until you know 1. how bad the crack really is; 2. whether it needs to be corrected; 3. what it will cost to correct it; and 4. whether it is a symptom of a bigger problem, such as ongoing soil movement under the slab, you don't really know if you have a meaningful legal issue. If you like I can assist you in locating an appropriate professional to conduct this investigation for you.

So, let's hope it is not a big problem and will be very inexpensive to fix, if it needs to be fixed at all. It is possible it can be patched with a few hundred dollars of grout and you will be done.

But if it is a big problem you have a number of legal remedies. First, if the seller replaced the carpet they surely knew about the crack. Their failure to disclose the existence of the crack to you was a violation of both their statutory and common law duty to disclose all facts known to the seller that would materially affect the value and desireablility of the property. Often times something like replacing carpet right before sale involves the sellers agent as well. If so, the agent and their supervising broker are also liable to you for the crack. Lastly, if the house is less than ten years old, you have a right to repair or damages from the original contractor who built the house. Of course this assumes you can find them, they are still in business, and have the resources to do the repair or pay the damages.

But first things first. Have the crack investigated and evaluated. Let me know if I can assist you with that. If you do have a significant problem, then we can take it from there.

Find out the risks in the crack, and how much it costs to repair it. Then, remedies include monetary compensation from the seller, seller's agent, builder, and your own insurance company. I need to take a look at your purchase and sale agreement - it may be possible to recover attorneys' fees as well.

Contact my office for a free consultation.

Best,

Daniel Bakondi, Esq.

[email protected]

415-450-0424

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