If a home seller lied about material, or important, things (like the condition of, or repairs being made to, major items, like air conditioning or the furnace) and you had no reasonable way at the time to know that he was lying, he may well have committed fraud: fraud is the knowing misrepresentation of some material fact, made to induce you to do something (like buy the house; or to get you to pay more or not ask for concessions), upon which you *reasonably* relied (so no reasonable way available to you to verify the information at the time, and no reasonable reason you should have simply disregarded the misrepresentation and relied on what you could see or find out for yourself). If, as may be the case based on what you write, the seller committed fraud, you could sue him to recover the cost to correct the problems now. In the course of the lawsuit, you can obtain information or documentation from him using the legal process or techniques of "discovery" (e.g. written interrogatories or questions, document production requests, subpoenas). If the amount at stake (the cost to replace) is less the limit for small claims court, sue in small claims as your own attorney or "pro se" to minimize legal costs (you can get less information from the other side in small claims, but the case will be MUCH faster, simpler and cheaper, making it worthwhile); if more than the small claims limit, speak with an attorney.