A Seller is required to disclose all material facts.

If the property was a Probate Sale, Trust Sale, or Non-Owner Occupant you may have limited if any Seller Disclosures. At a minimum most agents recommend home inspections unless you waived that. Did the Seller drop the price or offer credits for the home's condition/future repairs?

Your first course of action should be to contact the agent who represented you. If you can not find that agent, then contact the Broker. Example if Mrs. Jones was employed by Coldwell Banker. Call Mrs. Jones, then call the Branch office of Coldwell Banker (example only). Your paper work will have this information in there. Your written contract will stipulate your rights and, California Laws prevail as well.

The Broker should assist you with your options, which may include contacting a Real Estate attorney. And contacting the Broker/Agent of the Seller.

This may be a resource for you. During this mornings Broker Meeting Mark Strombotne 408-971-9540 talked about real estate legal issues.

The real anwer will be to determine if which is greater...your time and cost vs amount of recovery. These things usually are not simple.

Good Luck to You.

Hi Wei,
Go back and check your Inspection reports. DO you have a Roof inspection in there? Go through it. If you dont have a roof inspection, did you yourself get one done? did your agent advise you to get one done? From whom/how did you find out the previous owner tried to fix it? Also check the SSC- Suplemental Sellers Checklist Disclosure - read the roof section and see if it was disclosed there? Go to your Realtor and sit down, consult with him/her, assess the full detailed situation, have your Realtor guide you for next course of action. Depending on the situation, what you find through the paperwork, you can decide where the responsibility lies....
Also, check what your repair cost is, large or minimal? depending on that you may want to take action accordingly. If you need a great Roofer, contact:
Eastman Roofing & Waterproofing Inc., License # 525051 - Luke Eastman
New Roofs, all types
Repairs Warranted
Roof Maintenance
Decking/Waterproofing
PH: 408-971-9000/ 1800-2872006
Fax: 408-971-9797
Cell: 408-595-4120
luke@eastmanroofing.com
1418 Douglas Street
San Jose, CA 95126.

All the Best, please let them know I referred you to them.
Nina daruwalla

How about inspection reports? Did you have your own agent and order your own inspection?

Wei -

Definitely a situation best discussed with the agent/broker that represented you. If you don't get the answers there, consult with an real estate attorney.

If it was a known fact that the roof leaked and was not disclosed - that is an issue. Specifically, the TDS (Transfer Disclosure Statement) and possibly a "Seller's Questionnaire" will have comments from the seller about the roof. You should have received, read, and signed the TDS.

CJ

Contact your buyers agent determine if any paperwork you may have signed not aware of.

Ask you agent options you can follow lack of disclosure.

If home purchase via bank foreclosure, or a rental property more than likely dont have have a seller disclosure. In Texas any investment property not lived in or move out does not require disclosure.

Confer with attorney.

Lynn911 ~ National Featured Realtor