Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: real esate

The previous owners should have disclosed this to you - if they knew about. You can see if you can get the owners to pay you for the cost of repairs.

Re: real esate

A seller's duty to disclose includes anything that, if disclosed, would have a material effect on the value or desirability of the property. If the seller was an occupant of the property, it is much more likely that he or she had actual knowledge of the defects. A seller who has never been a resident of the property has the same duty to disclose, but obviously in most cases justifiably will disclose less because they know less.

The buyer's broker and the seller's broker also have certain duties to investigate and disclose.

With respect to the specific issue of the plumbing not being up to code, be careful not to rely too heavily on this alone, because (a) the plumbing may have been "up to" an earlier code at the time it was installed, and (b) home owners are not master plumbers and may not have any clue whether their plumbing meets code or not.