Can you hold a home seller accountable for false information on a disclosure form?

Answer 1

YES if you can prove it and prove they new about it when they disclosed the information.

Answer 2

Although the answer is YES, you are going to have a hard time proving it. Unless you can document the fact that the seller KNEW ahead of time about the problem you are not going to get far. For example if the foundation of the house is damaged and the seller had 3 companies come out and give him a quote to have this repaired and the seller did not hire any of the contractors but instead covered up the damage, and YOU CAN GET ONE OF THE CONTRACTORS TO TESTIFY IN COURT that he was called by the seller but did not hire the contractor. In such a case if the seller can't show that he did hire somebody to fix the known problem, then the court will find in your favor. What is the chance that you are going to be able to do all of that ...slim to none..

Even if there was a known problem, if the seller hired somebody to fix it and it was not fixed right, his defense will be that he was unaware of the fact that the problem was not repaired..

Just because there was a problem does not mean that the seller is lable for the problem. All he needs to say is that he was not aware of the problem ... That is why anytime you buy a house you need to hire an independent house inspector to check the house out and report the problems .. that should be part of your contract ... then whatever the inspector finds you can ask the seller to fix or you cancel the agreement..

I am sorry to tell you that more than likely you are stuck and will not goe very far in this whole thing even if you are right..sorry!

Answer 3

Absolutely, that's why it's called a disclosure form, however, there may be an out for the seller, ie, they may have been unknowing concerning the fact that the info was false.

Answer 4

Yes, absolutely - particularly if the false information helped you make the decision to purchase the home.

Answer 5

Absolutely.