Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Hampshire

We purchased a home in Northfield, NH in September of 2014. When we asked about the septic system and Leach field the previous owner advised he had the septic pumped every 2 years and had recently had a new pipe put in from the tank to the leach bed. We just had to dig up the back yard to find the pipe as we were having issues and found out that the previous owner had it channeled illegally underground through rocks and that there is no functioning leach field on the property. We are now faced with a back yard backed up with septic gunk and a walkway and new driveway that has to be torn up. Is there any nh law that allows us to go after the seller for not disclosing this to us. Our neighbor was aware of the issues and said the owner was excited to be rid of the property when we bought it because of the issue.


Asked on 3/15/16, 4:19 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
John Skinner, III Associated Attorneys of New England

There may be certain laws we could use to aide in a lawsuit against the seller, but for the most part, you're dealing with a common law claim for fraud in New Hampshire.

Assuming there's no conflict of interest, we'd be happy to help you prosecute this claim. It's also very important for you to realize there is a general statute of limitations in NH of only three years on most claims.

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Answered on 3/15/16, 5:03 pm


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