Can I sue the previous owner of my home?

While I hate to provide an answer of ‘it depends,’ a lawsuit of the type you are describing is very tricky and the factors that weigh to the strength are in the details of the transaction – what was said, written, known, disclosed, etc.  One of the keys is whether the problem was known and the condition was misrepresented or actively covered up.  If you sue, likely everyone will point fingers at one another, but, in the end, they are likely going to say something to the effect that it was unknown or that you had the opportunity to inspect.  And, the inspector will likely try to point to something in the contract that attempts to limit his or her liability.  Additionally, if real estate agents are involved, there could be issues with how they handled the transaction.  Long short, you may very well have a case, but you will need to sit down with an attorney to discuss the details of the transaction.  Unfortunately, litigation doesn’t come with guarantees so the best an attorney can do is make an assessment of the case – but, at least you will have all of your options following a consultation.