Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Iowa

We closed on our home a month ago. The home was fully inspected. The property is 3.2 acres. Our state requires a Seller Disclosure which we filled out honestly to the best of our knowledge. We verbally told the buyers since we sold by owner everything we could about the property. One of the things we told them was that there was a "hole" about an acre out in the front near the ditch that filled with several inches of water whenever we had heavy rains. We told them it was a bugaboo of ours because it took awhile to dry out and it was soggy in that area for mowing. They asked if it was a water line problem and we told them that we'd had the water company out to inspect the situation 2 months before we listed the house. We were told it had no connection to the water line and that hole was probably from a dead tree the previous owners had removed at some point (roots and all). The service guy also said that since our home sat up on a big hill and the front of the acreage ran downward -- that was likely the reason the rain was draining downward and pooling in the hole (area). We accepted that and wasn't at all concerned as this caused no problems other than inconvenience for mowing until it dried up after the rains. Fast forward -- we made this clear to the buyers. They accepted this and we closed on the house. Apparently, after heavy rains they saw the hole was filled with water and bubbling. They called "someone" to come out and had them dig up the yard several feet deep and wide. A clogged drainage pipe was discovered. They will be putting in new piping for proper drainage there. The buyers are asking us to pay for this. They say that it's our responsibility because it was like that when we sold them the house. Yet, we had NO idea. We had zero concern about the hole (4x3 feet circle) and only six inches deep. It would hold rain & then dry up. PERIOD. The water company came out and said it wasn't a concern -- so that's all we felt we needed to know. We had no knowledge of clogged drainage pipes underground on the acreage. Now the buyers are insisting we pay for the dig, discovery and work. We don't want to be jerks here. We left the house and property in immaculate condition and really think the buyers are nice people. We just don't feel we should be held financially responsible for something we didn't know about. In fact, we're wondering why it was necessary to make this repair? The problem discovered just made a 4x3 circle of the property wet for longer than desired after rain. It wasn't affecting the home or the rest of the property. If it had been, we would have investigated it more while we lived there. We looked at it as a simple inconvenience for mowing. Especially, when we even told them about the nagging hole that held rain. Thanks for any advice. We want to do the right thing, but don't want to be taken advantage of either. Thank you!

1 Answer from Attorneys

Related Questions & Answers

More Real Estate and Real Property questions and answers in Iowa

Looking for something else?