dilemma, to court or not to court

I'm facing a dilemma and I really don't know how to pursue from here.

In July we bought a house, it seemed in good shape, it was clean and the lady who sold it seemed honest. The notary office through which we bought it also said that we didn't have to worry, he knew the owner, bla bla bla... we paid the asking price.

After all the paperwork was done we started moving. Soon enough we noticed that not everything was as it seemed to be, there where holes in the wall where the previous owner had put furniture in front. Most of the build in kitchen appliances where broken and the storage room had problems with electricity. In other rooms wires where cut off, windows didn't seal properly, etc...
We figured, ok, every house has it's problems and we started fixing things.

Last week my husband woke me up at 2am. My entire hallway, bathroom, showerroom and livingroom had water on the floor, it was pouring down from all the walls!

The next morning I called a lawyer as well as the notary office. They told me to confront the previous owner first, let her know what was going on and then send her a letter in which I have to explain everything again. Meanwhile the lawyer looked into the paperwork and advised me to call a roof expert asap.

So the roof expert came and he said that the previous owner must have known about the bad construction of the roof. The lawyer said that if this is the case, and we can prove it (which we can), then, by Belgian law, and by the way our notary agreement was arranged, the previous owner has to cover the costs of the repairs. Basically she lied about the state of the house and misled us.

Today I had the woman on the phone, she screamed at me the whole time, claiming that we paid a cheap price for the house and that we have no right to make her pay. She also claims that she didn't know anything about a bad roof. Later on in our conversation she said, in a rage, that we should have checked the roof better before buying so that it's all our own fault. She called me names I'm not gonna repeat here. We hung up.
Half an hour later she calls me up again and starts raging about how I have no idea what she's been through and that she doesn't have any money, she starts crying...
Next I hear her throw away the phone, but it keeps connected so I can hear everything that goes on in the background, I heard her crying hysterically and yelling 'I'm not paying for that roof'... 'who does she think she is,stupid cow'... then the connection get's cut off.

So here is the dilemma:
I know this lady had some rough years, her husband died a long and painful death leaving her with little. She doesn't have a large income and she's in bad health herself.
On the other hand, people have been warning me to watch out for her because she's very manipulative.
She did sell us a house that was not worth what we paid for it, considering the repairs that have to be done, and lied about it to us and to the notary office.
I am legally in my full right to claim back the money for the repairs, only thing is, because she's not willing to meet me in the middle and find a solution, I'll have to go to court and have a judge rule in my favor.
'if' I go to court, I have the extra costs for the lawyer, the experts and the fast trial and whatever is left then is hardly half of what we are fighting for.

My husband is willing to go all the way just to make a point and to show that he's not taking this crap.
I on the other hand... well I heard this woman cry and even when she wasn't very nice to me, and I was very angry when my livingroom flooded, I feel sorry for her now and I'm almost willing to let it go, get the repairs done and get it over with.
I'm not a bad person but in my gut I feel like I'm treating her wrong. She sounded so helpless on the phone...

The experts are coming here in two weeks, by then I need to figure out what to do.

what would you do if you where walking in my shoes?

First of all, I'm sorry to hear about your situation and good luck with whatever path you choose to take. However, I'm not so sure about Belgium, but in America, the only winner in a court case is generally the court (meaning the lawyers and judges). Here in America, both parties usually wind up losing in court for several reasons. The first being that court stresses you out and will almost always leave you frusterated and "angry with the system", when all is said and done. Another reason being that you pay through the nose for lawyers who are experts at squeezing every single dime out of your bank account, to include any future dimes you may be able to put there in the future. The lawyers usually win regardless of whether you win or lose and more often than not, they are going to direct the case in whichever direction is best for you.

Now granted, I obviously have a biased view on the subject and my view is limited to American courts but I can only speak from my own personal experience. At all costs, I do whatever it takes it to stay out of court, unless of course I don't mind taking a hit to make the other side take a hit. I have found that the only winner in a court case, is the court itself and both parties litigating are usually the losers. Nobody wins in court, save for the attornies who charge through the nose.

As far as fault, it may very well be your own fault for not paying your due dilligence before making such a big decision. Another thing to think about, was the price low because the owner knew there were problems and the mutual agreement between you two was "as is"? It could have been that way and you guys didn't even realize it, as you could have just thought that you were getting a good deal. Maybe this whole experience can be chalked up to "lesson learned", if for nothing other than to save a major head-ache and possible further loss through the court system.

Anyway, good luck with it!

--airspoon

reply to post by airspoon

Thanks for the reply,
but you don't need to feel sorry for me, I like the house and the area and I don't want to move ever again, just want everything fixed asap and get it over with.

I've gone to court only once before and I didn't think it was stressful and thought the judge was very considerate towards both parties. Usually they set a date for this cases within 3 months, they hear both parties and the judge rules. In and out court in less then an hour. Yes, the laywers are the ones that gain the most here, aren't they always?

The sales agreement states that we bought the house as it is at the time, with all present 'defects' in sight or hidden, unless the seller deliberately kept silent about known defects. Then the seller signed the part in which he states to have no knowledge of defects other then the ones he told the buyer about.

It's because of the extra last paragraph that we are now in our legal right to claim the costs back. If I translate it from dutch to english freely it's called something like "a degradation of the estate value"... lol, something like that, I don't know the right terms in English.

btw, we did not buy it cheap, as she claims, we paied for it what it is worth, compared to other houses in the same area.
When you buy a house you can't check everything, the roof looked ok to us, even to my grandfather who build houses all his life. We didn't check what was under the roof and behind the furniture and I don't think that most people do