The deal is sealed, but now there's a problem
Q Before buying a house recently, I noted a tub with standing water. An inspection by a licensed plumber was inconclusive, but the seller said in his written disclosure that he had no knowledge of any plumbing problems.
It turns out extensive plumbing repairs are needed, and the plumber tells me it's a major, long-standing problem the owner must have known about.
Do I have any recourse?
S.S.
WINTER PARK
A: If the seller did not disclose a known defect under a standard residential real-estate contract, you have grounds for a lawsuit. However, such claims require proof of knowledge, and it's likely your seller will say he had none. Sellers are not obligated to disclose defects of which they are not aware.
In most home sales, the buyer is responsible for inspection by an appropriately licensed person. Typically, the buyer delivers a report of non-warranted items to get credit for repair costs from a seller at closing. If the buyer does not discover the defect until after the closing, then it is tough to back out of the transaction without expensive litigation.
Other possibilities include pursuing the inspector or agent and/or filing complaints with Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Note that licensed Realtors, while not obligated to discover latent defects, have a code of ethics stating they shall avoid concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property.
•Question answered by attorney Lawrence H. Kolin of Alvarez, Sambol & Winthrop, .
No comments:
Post a Comment