Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Michigan

I purchased a home last Sept. The home was an estate, the previous owner's children were managing and taking care of the property, for approximately 1-2 years prior to the sale of the home. In the disclosures it stated that the basement had no history of water issues/damage. However, since we've moved in, the basement has flooded 3 times. This obviously isn't something that solely happened after Sept. Considering I had approximately 20 lbs of roots drilled out of the basement drain system. What legal recourse do I have with this estate purchase? Is there anything I can do about this?


Asked on 7/09/13, 11:31 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Brad Lambert Lambert & Lambert PLC

You have a potential case for fraud against the sellers. The condition you describe appears to not be obvious, as you had to dig into the drain system to remedy the problem; thus, this probably was not something you should have detected when inspecting the house. The Sellers will of course claim that they just were managing the problem and didn't know anything about the basement. The estate status does not necessarily protect them from liability. The estate obviously came from someone, and that someone is a person they knew, meaning they also knew something about the house condition. How much they knew will be part of the dispute and will have to be resolved as part of that dispute. You should definitely pursue your legal claim.

Our office has handled several of these cases and can assist you.

This response is for information purposes and is not legal advice.

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Answered on 7/09/13, 11:46 am


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