Experience with suing a seller and his agent?

[Jennifer Oredson]

We closed on our first property on Oct 19. We were told that the rental certificate had been renewed over the summer and we were good for 3 years. Yesterday, I got a call from a city inspector informing us that the property is in violation as being occupied and having an expired rental certificate with no action taken on deficiencies. He further explained that the certificate had expired in June, and the inspection did not take place until Sept 26 due to scheduling issues. The report was given to the previous owner on Sept 27. We were under contract to purchase the property at this time but were not aware of this. The report included a long list of deficiencies that would need corrected within 30 days or no new certificate would be issued. We closed on Oct 19, and Oct 27 would have been the 30 days. We found out about all of this on Nov 8. No official estimates yet, but I'm sure it's more than $10,000 in repairs. We have been given a new 30 days. We started by looking at mediation through the local real estate association and calling a lawyer, but when our agent informed the seller's agent of the situation, he responded "just send us the list and we'll get it paid for." Assuming he does not follow through, we are still trying to find a lawyer to consult. No specific question here other than -- help! Advice!