The seller of our new home did not dis close that she got the house broken into during the sale of our house

The measure of damages for failure to disclose a material defect is the difference between what you paid for the property and what a willing buyer and a willing seller who both knew about the problem would have paid and accepted on the same closing date. In the pro-sellers' market that existed in August 2014, it seems unlikely that the seller would have agreed to any reduction of the price because of a break-in. My house was broken into once. I never thought of that as having reduced the value of the home. Same with the two times a car was stolen from out front. The Supreme Court has held that a property owner cannot recover damages for "stigma." That arose in a case where the condominium owners were able to prove that the value of their homes had gone down because of construction defects, even though the defects had been fully repaired and the repairs paid for. You would not be able to collect damages for the "stigma" of there having been a break-in. In the first line above, I said "material defect." In my personal opinion, a break-in is not a material defect. Another attorney might disagree, but I think that you are unlikely to collect anything from the seller or either of the brokers for this, even as a nuisance settlement. If you appreciate this free advice, please remember to refer me to any friends or acquaintances who need a lawyer. Referrals are still our best source of new business. Do you have a revocable living trust to protect your heirs against probate? Probate takes forever, is expensive, and is annoying. Do your family a favor. Set up a trust, and put all your property, especially any real property, into the trust. Since it is revocable, you can change it, add to it, take property out of it, or even cancel it completely, at any time. We set up such trusts, provide a pour-over will as a back-up for any property that does not make it into the trust, provide you with blank durable powers of attorney for health care and financial decisions, in case you become incapable of making such decisions while still alive, and convey one piece of real property to the trust, usually the family home, for $1500.00. If you would like to hire me to do this, let me know, and I'll send you a list of the information I need. Dana Sack