Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Washington

Lying on Form 17

I bought a house Dec06. The sellers stated on Form 17 that there were no water leakage problems. After the 1st rain, the wall-to-wall basement carpet had to be removed because of water and mold. I found the tack strips were rotted, so it had been going on a long time. I found the sill plate and studs are rotted.

Water was dripping from 2 windows on 2 floors of the house. Removal of siding shows large amount of damage. Found 2 doors that are midewing and had been painted over by sellers. Water was also running across garage floor and after looking behind cabinets, found it's been going on a long time too.

I've spent $5,000 on french drains so far and expect the total repair bills to run over $12,000. I didn't want to sue before but after finding so many on-going problems they must have known about, I've decided I will if sellers won't pay for repairs but I haven't asked them yet. I've been collecting evidence though and have quite a few pictures and saved the rotted materials. I did have a professional inspection before buying but they didn't find any of this. I had them come out again after the purchase and document the damages I knew about at that time.

Do I have a good case? Can I sue for attorney fees as well?

Thank you.


Asked on 10/21/07, 9:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Elizabeth Powell ELizabeth Powell PS Inc

Re: Lying on Form 17

The information you provide here certainly suggests that you should contact an attorney who practices in this area and discuss your case and your evidence with them.

Many attorneys will not want a retainer until they decide to take you on as a client. You can always ask about their practice.

If you prevail the statute provides that the non prevailing party will be paying attorney fees and costs to the prevailing party.

I appreciate that you are investigating other methods of dispute resolution and I wish you all the best with that, but I'm not sure that after this conduct the seller will suddenly have a change of heart and agree with you.

In Seattle, you have good choices in attorneys. If you have not looked at avvo.com (a v v o ) that might help you narrow down your search.

Hope this helps. Elizabeth Powell

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Answered on 10/21/07, 11:18 pm


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