A Texas seller recently received a $163,000 demand letter from the buyer’s attorney — less than nine months after closing. The allegation: failure to properly disclose issues with the pool. The culprit? A chemical reaction called Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR), better known as “concrete cancer.”
This case is not an outlier. Across Central Texas, a wave of pool failures tied to ASR is turning into a wave of post-closing legal claims.
Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR) — nicknamed “concrete cancer” — is a chemical reaction that occurs inside concrete when the alkaline cement paste reacts with reactive silica in certain aggregates, particularly in the presence of moisture. The reaction produces a gel that expands, creating internal pressure that eventually causes cracking, structural deterioration, and in pools, loss of water retention.
The damage can be severe and irreversible. Repair costs frequently run into six figures, and in many cases, the pool must be demolished and rebuilt entirely.
The problem is concentrated in Central Texas — particularly pools built between 2017 and 2023 in communities like Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Dripping Springs, Lakeway, and Bee Cave. During the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for backyard pools surged, and construction volumes spiked dramatically across the region.
At the same time, a key protective ingredient in concrete — fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion that prevents ASR — became harder to source as coal plants were decommissioned. Concrete companies in the region went without it or substituted other materials, and the result was concrete that was highly susceptible to ASR. By some estimates, thousands of Central Texas pools may be affected.
The legal fallout has been significant. The Texas Supreme Court consolidated more than 100 lawsuits into a multidistrict litigation against concrete suppliers. Homeowners have sued pool builders. And now, buyers are suing sellers — alleging they were not properly informed about pool conditions at the time of sale.
Here’s how one case unfolded — and why it matters for every agent representing a seller with a pool in Central Texas.
Claim Snapshot
The buyers reported noticing several pool leaks and signs of concrete cancer approximately one month after closing. A demand letter from the buyer’s attorney arrived in September 2025 — barely eight months after the sale closed.
The seller’s account: they had noticed surface cracks in the pool prior to sale and proactively had it resurfaced. They believe this was disclosed, and the buyer’s inspector examined the pool at the time with no findings flagged.
Regardless of how the claim ultimately resolves, the seller is now facing a $163,000 demand and the stress of legal proceedings — a situation no one anticipates when a home sale closes smoothly.
Because this seller had Home Sale Legal Protection in place, they had immediate access to a local expert real estate to help manage the claim. Without it, they would have been navigating this alone.
Under Texas Property Code §5.008, sellers of single-family residential property are required to provide a Seller’s Disclosure Notice to the buyer. The TXR 1406 form — used in the vast majority of agent-represented transactions — asks sellers to disclose known defects related to pools, structural conditions, and property systems. As of June 15, the updated TXR 1406 includes a dedicated section addressing concrete cancer, making Texas one of the first states to name ASR explicitly in a standardized disclosure form.
Concrete cancer creates a particularly thorny disclosure situation for several reasons:
It’s easy to assume that disclosure claims fall squarely on the seller. But agents and brokerages can find themselves named in disputes too.
In Central Texas, where concrete cancer is a known and documented regional issue, the “I didn’t know” defense is increasingly difficult to sustain — for sellers and for agents. The issue has been covered extensively by local media, litigated in court, and discussed in the real estate community for years.
That means your job, as an agent, includes:
This case is a reminder that even a seller who acted in good faith — who disclosed what they knew, had work done on the pool, and allowed an inspection — can still face a six-figure demand letter months after closing.
Post-closing claims are not rare. They are not always fair. And they are almost always stressful and expensive to navigate — unless your seller has protection in place.
Encourage your sellers to protect themselves before closing. Learn more about Home Sale Legal Protection.
