Leaking Basement on a recently purchased Home

The basement leaks on a home that I purchased in June of 2007. It has a finished basement and the Property Disclosure Statement says that the basement didn't leak. In August of 2007 we had a large rainstorm move through our area, and when we went down to check the basement, to see if there was any leaking, there was about two inches of water in much of the basement. The home which was built in 1996 has a sump pump and drainage system, but the sump pump wasn't working. We got the sump pump running by simply unplugging it and plugging it back in, then it pumped the water out. But we had to tear out all of the carpet and remodel the entire basement. I contacted the sellers, but they continued to insist that the basement had never leaked while they had lived here, and it was only because the sump pump didn't come on that the basement flooded, and because it was the worst thunderstorm that this area had seen in years. I found this explanation to be suspicious because they had carpeted the basement with indoor/outdoor carpet in only the area where the basement flooded the worst. The rest of the basement had regular carpet and pad. But I couldn't prove that the basement would have flooded even if the sump pump had worked, so I didn't pursue it any further. We didn't get any more rainstorms for the remainder of the year. During the winter we had the basement repaired, and just this last week we had new carpet installed. Today a light rain has been falling most of the day, so I went down to check if the basement was still dry, but the carpet was wet in the very area of the basement where they had the indoor/outdoor carpet. There was a little water in the sump pump, but not enough to make it come on, but I checked to make sure that it was working properly, and it was. Even with the sump pump working, and a very light rain, the basement is leaking. I believe that the sellers lied in their Disclosure statement, when they said that the basement didn't leak. I am wondering what I can do in this situation.

Do I have any legal rights to compensation under these circumstances. Can I get the sellers to pay for any damages? Can I still back out of the purchase, and get my money back? I paid for the house in cash.

Have experts come in and examine what happened. If you can show they lied then you indeed can sue them for damages.

Hello we bought a house in 2005 and we didnt live in it till 2007 of march.My daughter lived in it while we lived in another state..We had problems with this house since day one I was always calling the hms insurance about something going wrong. We are paying 159,000 for this house and now im very upset and disapointed.When it rains basement is all flooded out we have to unplug and plug in the sub pump or it will leak all over basement.The did some work on that side of house where leaks owner paid 7.000 something to fix it before he sold it.I called those people out here told them it was there mistake and i want it fixed they said shore for about 10,000 we dont have that kind of money.Im worried with all this leaking in this house its not healthy mold can set in or has...up here we have a fireplace downstairs ceiling leaking i plugged it with towels the grarge leaks to me it looks like they did a fast paint job to sell this house cause now all the creaks are starting to show. On contract it just says that wall in basement was fixed does not say it leaks ect please is there something I can do about this can you lead me in right direction .. sincerly and thank you Sue email address is spoilednavygrl@aol.com

Based on what you say here, you could file suit against them (or at least threaten to do so) in small claims court or in regular court; filing in small claims court is easier and requires no attorney but amounts are limited...you could try to collect all of the costs and damages that you suffered due to their behavior... You may also report them to your state attorney general's office. World Law attorneys could also become directly involved,