Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Missouri
In March of 2010, I was living in a duplex because my job had transferred me to St Louis. I started house hunting because I wanted to take advantage of the tax break. I wanted to find a small house that might need a little fixing up, (painting and yard work). I did not find a house that I liked so I wasn't able to take advantage of the tax break by April 30. I continued looking, my realtor showed me a few houses, I made an offer on two in the price range I was looking for that didn't pan out. My realtor called me one day in August and said she had a house she wanted to show me. I didn't like the house, but I did like where it was, I wasn't sure but made an offer. The offer was accepted and I had the house inspected. The inspector found a few minor things, but I was still concerned about a few other things. I told my realtor I still had concerns about the house and she said that she could me at the house with a contractor that she uses. I met them at the house and pointed out a major concern that I had such as the roof and a water spot behind the bathroom sink. The contractor said that the water spot was where the sink had been leaking and had been fixed and that he could replace the baseboard and it would be fine. He said the roof looked fairly new.
I still had concerns about buying the house and told my best friend that I didn't want the house and she advised me not to buy it. The closing date was about a week away and I was going to call the realtor and back out, knowing that I would lose my $1,000.00 earnest money, but I would rather have taken a chance on losing it than ending up in a house I didn't want. That weekend my father had a heart attack and I had to go to Texas, this was a very stressful time for me and my realtor kept calling me and telling me that they needed this and that. I felt like I was just going through the motions as my father was in a drug induced coma for 3 or 4 days. When I returned from Texas I had to go to the closing for the house, on the way I kept thinking that I should back out knowing that I wasn't sure I wanted the house.
After closing I had to work 10 hours a day the next 4 days. On my next day off I went over to the house and discovered that the 'leak' behind the sink was because the bathroom floor was rotten all the way through. I went home and cried for 3 days, I called my realtor and she said that the contractor could meet me over at the house. The contractor after seeing the bathroom floor stated that he never would have guessed it was that bad and gave me a quote to fix it. The bathroom was fixed, but it cost me $3,000.00. I am a single woman in my fifties and have owned houses before, some that needed fixing up and some brand new, but have never lived in one that needed the work that this one does. I carefully looked for a home for 6 months, and was stressed out from looking and further stressed from my father nearly dying and feel that I was taken advantage of at a time when I was stressed. I kept telling my realtor about my concerns and feel like she kept encouraging me to buy the house, when I feel like she should have said that if I didn't like the house I should keep looking. I haven't made my 3rd payment on the house and have depleted my savings due to things that are wrong with it. I'm not sure what to do or if there is anything I can do.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Under teh facts you described, you may have a cause of action against the contractor for fraud. The realtor told you that it ws the contractor that worked on the house, so they should have known the extent of the damage. You may not prevail at trial, but they will likely make settlment offer to you prior to trial, as they appear to have exposure here. The realtor may also need to be a defendant in that action, as they were the ones that made the representation about the contractor's connection to the house. You might also have to make the seller a defendant as they may have misrepresneteda known condition. Also the realtor may be on the hook for not finding the misreprestnation or for nto alertin you to the problem. You should take the invoices and all the clsoing documents to an attorney in your area to evaluate your options. Many offer a free or low cost initial consultation.
Good luck
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