Non-disclosed defect discovered, want seller to reimburse.

[Carlos Enriquez]

I recently bought a sfr in Seattle, closed December 22, 2015.  The inspector that charged me $400 for the inspection totally missed a one foot diameter area in the dining room along the garage side wall that when stepped on, sinks in about 3-4".

The floor had been recently upgraded to that floating laminate material.  The sellers did not disclose any defect, but it's obvious that they would have known about it, but covered it up with the new floor.

This apparently occurred from a water heater leak directly behind the dining room wall in the garage.  They had replaced the water heater but did not repair the drywall that had been affected, nor the wood floor under the common wall between the garage and dining room.  The inspector noted the drywall, but apparently did not think to go into the dining room on the other side to see if there was damage done to the floor!

We found this after we took possession of the house and immediately notified my realtor and the inspector.  The inspector returned for a look and told me that all he could do was  refund my inspection fee if I was not satisfied.  Needless to say I got my money back, but now I have to deal with estimates and repair, and I'm an out of state owner at this point.  This house was built in 1967, so instead of subfloor, the floor is actually 2 x 6 x 20 long planks.

Unfortunately, the house sold as "for sale by owner", so they didn't have a realtor, per say. Only enough of one to list their house on MLS. I'm not sure what to do.

My question is, has anyone prevailed by taking sellers to small claims court after getting repairs done, due to non-disclosure of a defect?

[Russell Brazil]

I advise all my clients that disclosure forms are worthless. Sellers lie, plain and simple. Proving that they are lying is nearly impossible.  The cost of litigating against undisclosed defects is too high, and a waste of time. Never trust what is in the disclosures.

 I occasionally am contacted by people from out of the area who want to buy a house site unseen, and I do not allow them to do so.  I feel my liability would be too high if they encountered an issue like this. I tell them rent for a short time when they move here and then we can start shopping for them. I also have a few investor clients who are interested in buying out of state, and I try to explain to them the risks in doing so....that you are putting your trust in people who you have no relationship with. Some listen, some dont.