Proving sellers lied about roof is tough — as well as costly

Q: The sellers of my home said the roof was 8 years old and had a 25-year warranty. Recently, heavy rains resulted in a roof leak. When a contractor came out, he said the roof was more like 20 years old. He found a pot in the attic positioned to catch water from a leak.

Clearly, the seller knew about the leak. I pulled the permit from the city, and the roof was indeed more than 20 years old. This was only the latest in a series of misrepresentations made by the sellers. How would you respond? I lived in the home for four years before finding out about the roof. Thank you.

A: We can’t address any misrepresentations you didn’t describe, so let’s discuss the roof. We wonder whether you had the home inspected before closing. Any professional inspector should have found the pot in the attic and alerted you to the roof’s possible true age.

Given that you went four years without a roof problem, we can’t say whether a newer roof also would have sprung a leak. In some parts of the country, vicious storms could cause a leak even in a new roof.

We also don’t think that you would have done anything differently if you had known the roof was 20 years old when you bought the home. The pot might be evidence of a previous patching, so the roof might have been in decent shape at closing.

Did you get a written disclosure listing the roof’s age? We’ve seen situations where sellers don’t know the age of the roof when asked and estimate it, sometimes based on what the previous seller told them.

So many questions, so few answers.

You’re in a tough spot. Even if you can prove fraud, the cost of litigation might be more than any recovery you could get. Consult with a local litigation attorney to find out more.