Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Wisconsin

Re: Furnance

Depending upon how the condo was advertised and what was disclosed on the real estate condition report, the failure to disclose a known defect can constitute a breach of contract.

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Re: Furnance

You should check the property condition report that the seller gave to you before you made your offer to purchase to see if there is any reference to the faulty furnace. Did you have a home inspection? If so what was said about the condition of the furnace?

If it was represented to you that the furnace was in good condition and you can prove that was a lie you may have a claim for theft-by-fraud, under Wis. Stat. � 943.20(1)(d). In order to successfully make such a claim you must prove that:(1) the seller made a false representation to you (the furnace was in good condition); (2) the seller knew that the representation was false (you can prove he KNEW it was NOT in good condition); (3) the seller made the representation with the intent to deceive and defraud you in order to induce you to buy the property at the price you agreed to pay); (4) the seller got title to your property as a result of his false representation (you paid him the purchase price); (5) you were deceived by the seller's representation (you didn't actually know that the furnace was bad before you bought the condo); and (6) you were thus defrauded. See State v. Kurzawa, 180 Wis. 2d 502, 525 n.15, 509 N.W.2d 712, 722 n.15 (1994).

It is possible that you also have a breach of contract claim if your purchase agreement was to include a furnace that was in good condition if the seller knew that it was defective.

If you can prove theft by fraud, you are also entitled to collect reasonable attorney fees. If it is only a breach of contract you will have to pay your own attorney fees or sue in small claims court without an attorney (I definitely recommend that you hire an attorney and at the very least that you have a review by an attorney).

These kinds of cases are very fact dependent and you have the burden of proof, so it is extremely important for to have evidence that is admissible in court in order to prove your claim.