Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey

Deceptive representation of property dimensions

We bought a house directly from owner. His documented layout plan of the room sizes were, in most cases, overestimated. The rooms were small and space was a premium. We judged furniture placement based on seller's room-size estimates. We did not measure all of the room sizes ourselves. We found that we cannot place all our furniture in the house. The smaller room size will subtract from resale value since we would not perpetuate the overestimation.

Do we have a legal remedy?


Asked on 6/28/99, 10:18 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Gleaner Robert A. Gleaner, P.C.

Re: Representation of property dimensions

It appears from your question that the closing of title has already occurred. That being the case, I believe you have no recourse. If the exact placement of the furniture was of such great importance, it seems to me that you should have measured the rooms first to be sure that it would fit. It would be hard to argue that they hid the size of the rooms from you; in your question, you call his drawing an "estimate". This would have been a very simple matter for you to verify. In the absence of other information from you, it does not seem that you have a claim. However, if you have other information that may be relevant, I would suggest that you consult with an attorney in your area. Good luck!

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Answered on 7/08/99, 3:45 pm


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