Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Florida

Re: Liability

One possibility is if you could prove that the

Sellers knew or should have known of this material

defect and failed to disclose it to you. I suspect

that would be very difficult to prove.

Re: Liability

If you can prove that the Seller of the home to you knew about this problem, the Seller may be held liable under the case of Johnson v. Davis which requires the Seller to disclose any known defects in the residence. The same would hold true for the realtors involved in the transaction if they can be shown to have know about the defect. If not, then there is no one who would be liable.

The foundation may prove to be a problem when refinancing if an inspection is done by the lender or if the appraiser becomes aware of the problem. This might be avoided by telling the lender about the problem and allowing them to set aside monies to fix the problem which should be done anyway from the proceeds of the refinancing as you can not resell the home without liability to the new Buyers in the future unless the problem is corrected.

Scott R. Jay, Esq, 305-249-8000

Re: Liability

The only liabiltiy I see here would accrue against you for concealing this significant problem. Either refinance and repair, or re-sell and disclose.