Sprinkler systems
Answers to real estate questions as appearing
in the Houston Chronicle
By george stephens, CRB, AND Charles J. "Chuck" Jacobus, JD
Dear George: We purchased a home three days ago. We were told by the agent that the house had a sprinkler system; however, the water was turned off, so we couldn't test it. This morning, we turned on the sprinkler system—it's broken and it flooded the front yard. Is there anything we can do?
Answer: Call a sprinkler-repair company. Have them identify the problem. Repairing a sprinkler system is usually not that costly. Unless the repair is outrageously expensive and the seller provided you with a disclosure notice stating that the sprinkler system was working, you should spend your money on repairing the sprinkler instead of hiring a lawyer.
E-mail your question to "Ask George & Chuck" or fax it to 281/596-7591. The answers to questions in this column do not contain legal advice. If you wish to obtain legal advice, you should consult your own attorney.
George Stephens, CRB, is the broker of ERA Stephens Properties. He is licensed as a mortgage broker in Texas and a real estate broker in Texas, Georgia, and Massachusetts.
Charles J. Jacobus, JD, is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Residential and Commercial Real Estate Law, and the author of Texas Real Estate Law and Texas Real Estate, both published by Thomson Publishing. He also teaches at Champions School of Real Estate and Houston Community College, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center.
George and Chuck are co-authors of Texas
Real Estate Brokerage and Law of Agency published by Thomson Publishing.
