Buried Pool In Backyard Discovered 2.5 Years After Purchase Of Home - Seeking Potential Paths Forward, Options, And Advice.

Location: Tennessee

Hi everyone! I’m posting here to ask for advice with a buried in ground pool I recently discovered in my back yard. I purchased the house in the summer of 2023 and recently (within the last few months) discovered that a pool was buried in my backyard at some point prior to my purchase of it. Google earth images indicate it was filled in mid-2018, which from records show that it occurred three owners ago. The reason I discovered the pool was because I noticed water retention in the middle of my backyard, which led to soft, muddy ground, poor grass growth, sunken areas, and even part of the pool wall being exposed. This leads me to believe that it was improperly filled in.

I’ve already contacted several people, a real estate lawyer and a pool demolition company, about my options for going about this, and I’ve gotten some good information: the lawyer will be expensive and I’d likely have to prove fraud (this was not disclosed on the disclosure during the sale), and the pool demolition (which is required for my city and county) would cost anywhere between $18.5k-$35k to correctly demolish and re-grade my yard. No permits were drawn up for the pool fill-in in 2018, I already checked with my city, and that is definitely a required step. This leads me to believe that it was illegally filled in.

My ask to you all is, what would proceeding with legal action look like and how would that incorporate with my desire to correct the issue of the improperly filled in pool? Could I dual path these efforts? Would I have to take action against the people I purchased the house from for failing to disclose/fraud, or would I have to pursue action against the owner that did this in 2018 (if they’re still alive)? Given the timeline of all of this, would it be better for me to just pay to fix it and move on without legal action? Is there a hidden other option I’m not thinking of? The financial burden is immense either way, and I’m not sure if the legal costs and potential legal loss warrant pursuing a case, but I’d like advice before I make a final decision.

Thank you for your time and assistance!