The focus in making these disclosures is on issues that you actually know about. If a ten-foot spider has been living quietly in your attic, and you haven't looked in the attic since you bought the house, you can't be held responsible for failing to disclose its existence. A home buyer might be able to take legal action against you for lying or obfuscating home defects within the disclosure form, most likely because you:.
Notice the focus above on "material" defects. If you leave off a tiny scratch on a window pane, no lawyer will take the buyer's case for nondisclosure and hiring a lawyer wouldn't be worth it for the amount at issue anyway. As a side note, nondisclosure isn't the only basis upon which a home buyer might sue. Outright fraud or breach of contract are other possibilities in this context.
Lawsuits over nondisclosure are less common than you might expect, mainly for the following reasons:. By filling out the disclosure form completely and honestly, you should be able to move on to your next abode without worrying about eventual calls from lawyers representing the home buyers.
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Grow Your Legal Practice. Meet the Editors. What happens if an old problem rears its head after the home sale? Will this lead to the seller facing litigation brought by a disgruntled buyer? A buyer of property can claim several types of damages against a seller that failed to disclose problems. The primary item of damages that the buyer may be entitled to is the economic cost of having to repair or replace the undisclosed or misrepresented condition.
On top of that, the buyer may be entitled to other damages such as non-economic damages as well as prejudgment interest. If the property is a rental or supposed to be , the buyer may also be entitled to lost profits. If you believe that you purchased a property and did not receive appropriate disclosure from the seller, please call us today at Blog Subscription.
Failure to Disclose Failure to Disclose Are you looking for an experienced lawyer to help you with real property disclosure issues? Failure to Disclose Defects or Malfunctions Some of the most common disclosures that sellers must make regard defects or malfunctions of the property for sale.
Some of the most common defects listed in disclosures include: Septic tank and plumbing issues. Electrical system issues. Water damage. Roof leaks. Additions or renovations completed without a permit or by an unlicensed individual. Building code violations. The presence of non-tempered glass on sliding doors or showers. If you think your home might have a latent defect that the seller did not disclose, you should speak with an attorney before contacting anyone else or taking any steps to remove or fix the defect.
This is because what you believe to be a defect may not be at all. For example, an easement would not be a latent defect because it does not impose any harm to the health or safety of an occupant. Another example is property lines. A property line is not a latent defect, although it could be fraud on the part of the seller. Different parts of the contract deal with things like encroachments, which should be picked up by a competent location survey and visual inspection of the property.
It is foolish not to do otherwise. If you are selling your home, you should include everything you know in the Disclosure Statement, even though very few people read those documents. Think about the disclosure as your opportunity to document everything so that you can protect yourself against any possible lawsuits.
The point here is although the defect may have been corrected, the house has a history. And that history can be used against you by an unrealistic or unreasonable buyer. You should have all of the receipts and the contract for the grading work available. Realtors are anxious to get that deal to the settlement table. Lawyers are more concerned about what happens next. At Coover Law Firm, we know just what to look for if a seller might be hiding something.
We understand that you could lose invaluable time and money, so let us prevent the seller from being dishonest.
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