Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Michigan

Re: Selling a house involved with a lawsuit

You can sell the house and still maintain the lawsuit, but you will need to document the damages well. Receipts for all repairs are a must. Also, you will need to prove at trial that the prior owners knew or should have known of the defect and did not disclose it to you at the time you purchased the home. For more info., please contact my office at (248)8513171.

Re: Selling a house involved with a lawsuit

Yes, you can sell the house, and it will actually support your lawsuit that you "mitigated your damages" by fixing up the house and reselling it in a timely manner (or at least tried to list it).

But make sure you have a very detailed file of the problems with the house, including photos, a videotape, expert reports, even a sample of the rotten wood, etc., BEFORE you sell the house or make any major modifications. Because once you make the repairs, your evidence disappears. If there is mold in the house, I suggest hiring a mold expert to perform an investigation and a report, which you will need to support your lawsuit.

If you need help getting ready to file or need a lawyer to assist with your lawsuit, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you.

Re: Selling a house involved with a lawsuit

Think of it this way, hypothetically: Suppose you had a problem with your car and your mechanic fixed it. Then, it broke down again due to the mechanic's negligence. You had it fixed again, this time correctly, and then sold it in proper condition. You would still have a suit against the mechanic for his negligence, but you do have to prove the negligence and to do so, you would have to have your receipts, parts, and the "expert" mechanic who will say that the first mechanic did the initial repair wrong.