Property Disclosure Form?

Question

I purchased a home and later found that a known problem existed at the time of the sale. The seller had made attempts to repair the problem. The Property Disclosure Form required that the owner disclose any attempted repairs to this specific item in the previous 5 years. The prior owner is now claiming that their realtor told them not to disclose the problem. Does this absolve the seller from liability? The real estate contract clearly says that they realtor is not an attorney and does not provide legal advice. Also, the statute of limitations is not an issue in this case. Thoughts?

Answer 1

The seller is obligated to fix it.

Answer 2

The prior owner received bad advice. They legally have to disclose any problems.

You can determine the cost of repairing the problem, and then inform the seller and their realtor of the cost, allowing them the opportunity to pay for the repairs before you bring a lawsuit.

I bought a house that didn't have a disclosure, and had to sue the seller/realtor for the cost. (If it's under $5,000, I highly recommend small claims court. Attorneys can be so expensive that it might not be worth the cost.)

Answer 3

1. They violated the law.
2. The real estate agent's advice to their client has nothing to do with you. You can sue, and name both the agent and the seller in the case. Whatever issues the seller is claiming as a defense - well, they'd have to sue the agent and prove this.
3. It doesn't matter that the real estate agent is not an attorney - disclosure has nothing to do with providing legal advice.

Your first step would be to call your state's division of real estate and lodge a formal complaint on the seller's agent involved. Your second step is to gather all of your documents relating to the problem, the non-disclosed repairs, and contact an attorney.

Answer 4

The seller will have to fix this. The relator should have not told the seller to not list this. That was probably so the relator could get the sale over and done with. Everyone gets their money and they then think it's YOUR problem. I work in this industry, I see it time and time again. I would attempt at getting the seller to fix the problem, and your last resort obviously is court.

Answer 5

If the problem can be corrected for $5,000.00 or less, sue both the owner and the realtor in small claims court. If it's a bigger problem than that, it warrants hiring an attorney to pursue it for you. I'd say both parties bear some responsibility for this.

Answer 6

thanks for asking that question. I going through same issue.