mold

[frankster0620]

I just sold a home one month ago. The day after closing, the buyer discoverd some mold under the contact paper in the cabinets on each side of the dishwasher. It was later discovered by a plumber that the dishwasher had been the culprit and caused the mold to form under the contact paper......My wife and I had no idea that there was a problem since the contact paper kept the mold covered up and the dishwasher NEVER leaked water out from the front side onto the kitchen floor. As it stands, we had no idea of any existing leaks; however, the buyer (who works for a law firm) is now wanting to file a lawsuit for $37000 against us unless we can work something out in mediation. They are claiming "non-disclosure" on our part. Has anyone had this experience and what leg do we have to stand on?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

The buyer had a right of inspection and likely did have the home inspected. Once the house closed and the title passed... it's the buyer's new home.

Unless you deliberately concealed the problem I would find it hard to believe that the buyer has any recourse against you after closing. There is no responsibility that you have to disclose every potential limitation of your home that may or may not be a problem. Some states have more stringent requirements but I would doubt this would be such a case and in the appropriate area of coverage.

Originally posted by frankster0620
I just sold a home one month ago. The day after closing, the buyer discoverd some mold under the contact paper in the cabinets on each side of the dishwasher. It was later discovered by a plumber that the dishwasher had been the culprit and caused the mold to form under the contact paper......My wife and I had no idea that there was a problem since the contact paper kept the mold covered up and the dishwasher NEVER leaked water out from the front side onto the kitchen floor. As it stands, we had no idea of any existing leaks; however, the buyer (who works for a law firm) is now wanting to file a lawsuit for $37000 against us unless we can work something out in mediation. They are claiming "non-disclosure" on our part. Has anyone had this experience and what leg do we have to stand on?

 

[frankster0620]

Well, much has transpired since I last left a post. We ended up settling for $25000!!! The buyer did have an inspection done prior to closing and the inspector found no leaks or any sign of mold. In Texas, there is a law on the books called the DTPA (Deceptive Trade Practices Act) which basically encourages any disputes over a sale of a home or auto to be settled out of court; however, the law puts 99% of the liability on the seller. It is no longer "buyer beware". Under the DTPA, the sellers of a home that was found to have some mold must make an offer to settle with the buying party. If the buyer refuses, you must work to reach a fair settlement. If this cannot be accomplished, then you go to mediation. If mediation fails, then the case goes to court. The playing field was never level in our case as the seller is the HR director for one of the largest law firms in Dallas. The seller basically had "limitless" resources to pursue my wife and I while we would have had to pay $15000 just to retain our attorney in case the feud went to court. On top of this, we were paying our attorney $250 per hour and mediation would have cost us another $1500 (both plaintiff and defendent would've paid this amount). Since this case was brought under the DTPA, we were left with no alternative but to try and settle. $25000 and $5000 in attorney fees.......wow! there went half of our sales proceeds from the sale of the home!