no inspection done on an addition the previous owners did

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no inspection done on an addition the previous owners did

is there any recourse if the previous owners of our home didn’t disclose that
they didn’t get an inspection prior, during or after they added their kitchen?
Now, the floor is sinking and the walls and ceiling are cracking. This was done
in 1989. They basically put a big bandaid on an ongoing problem and now it’s
going to cost us 23,000 to fix

Asked on May 2, 2018 under Real Estate Law, Minnesota

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

If the prior owners know of the issues, which they apparently did (if it's been an "ongoing" problem and they have just been "patching it up to hide the damage") but did not disclose it, that would be fraud: fraud is the misrepresentation (or lying about, including by omission) some important fact to get you to enter into a transaction (e.g. buy the house), upon which representation you reasonably rely (i.e. there is no reason to mistrust it). Based on what you write, you may well have a claim based on fraud for the repair cost.
In your state, the statute of limitations, or time period within which you MUST being a lawsuit, for fraud is six (6) years. If you bought the house within the last 6 years, you should still be able to sue and should consult with an attorney about doing so (the amount of money at stake is sufficient to make it worthwhile to hire a lawyer). If you bought the home more than six years ago, however, you are most likely out of time to sue or take action.


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