Should we have been informed of property subject to flooding prior to purchase
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Should we have been informed of property subject to flooding prior to purchase
My wife and I purchased a home 5 yrs ago in that time our home has been flooded twice the back yard was flooded resulting in loss of personal belongings. Last year our home was flooded out front yard and back including the sunken lounge. This is now being investigated by our insurance company lawyers against the developers. I was informed just yesterday by a neighbor that 10 years ago our home was flooded and he had entered our home and saw that the inside of the house had been flooded out. Upon purchase of our home we were not notified of this by the real estate nor the owner who herself was a real estate worker. I would like to know if this information should have been divulged to us by not only the real estate agent/owner but by the settlement
agent also, our property will now be at high risk of devaluation due to this. We are seeking advice on whether we have any grounds to seek compensation for this.
Asked on March 17, 2019 under Real Estate Law, Alaska
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
The agent has no responsibility to disclose information about the house: only the owner has that legal obligation or responsibility.
The owner, however, IS obligated to disclose problems, issues, etc. such as flooding, of which he is or logically should be (given the circumstances and facts) aware. If the owner does not disclose such known problems, he may well have committed fraud, which would provide grounds to sue him for compensation.
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