Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Minnesota

Re: Home Repair

Unless you purchased it from the builder as new construction (which is apparently not the case) or your seller knew or could reasonably been expected to know about the problem and did not disclose it to you or your seller made an affirmative represenation to you that the roof was properly braced, the answer is "no".

Sellers are required only to disclose defects they know about (or, sometimes, that they reasonably should know about). How did you discover the problem? Is there evidence that the prior owner did or would have discovered the problem in a similar way? What did the seller tell you in the property condition disclosure form?

Another approach, what warranty did the seller get from the builder? There is also a statutory warranty that builders must give against structural defects. I'd suggest you (preferably jointly with your seller) contact the builder and try to convince him this is a warranty issue.

Please e-mail me directly with any other quistions.