What to do if my husband and I purchased our first home 7 months ago but have only just now discovered that the furnance is not working properly?
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What to do if my husband and I purchased our first home 7 months ago but have only just now discovered that the furnance is not working properly?
We live in a small town in New England. Now that the cold weather is upon us the furnace has been running for the last 2 month. Our home is now covered with soot from the walls, cellings to the dishes in my cupboards. We have also all been breathing this in, we have 2 small children. This problem has been getting worse everyday also setting off the smoke/carbon detectors. We have someone coming to check our furnace today if it was a exsiting problem that was overlooked at closing do we have any rights to have either the selling party or inspector pay for the repair and possibly the clean up?
Asked on January 22, 2013 under Real Estate Law, Massachusetts
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
If you bought the home after inspection--and an inspection during warm weather, when the furnace would not have been running (and so the inspector would not be expected to find this problem) you would only have a claim if you can show that the seller knew of the problem and, knowing it, deliberate or intentionally failed to disclose it. A knowing or intentional failure to disclose an issue like this could be fraud; fraud can provide a basis for recovery. However, if you cannot show that the problem both existed when the seller owned the home and that he/she was aware of it, you would not have a viable claim.
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