Property Disclosures - Do We Have to Tell the Buyers What My Tenants Told You?
I had a listing a little while back, and while I was at the property, one of the tenants told me they believed there was mold in the property based on appointments with the tenant's doctor.
My response was to contact my seller and tell him about my conversation. I told him, we were going to need to disclose this to the seller and that it would result in additional inspections.
My seller's response, "Do we we have to tell the buyers?" I explained to him that in California we had to disclose any material issues of which we were aware in the property.
What would have happened if he had not disclosed? I would still have had the obligation to disclose to the buyer as I have the obligation to disclose any material issues of which I was aware, as did the seller.
If no one had disclosed and the buyer discovered this failure, the likely repercussion would have been a lawsuit for any damages they incurred as a result of the failure to disclose.
We disclosed; there were additional inspections and some repairs needed. However, my seller still sold the property and did not have to worry about liability and/or lawsuits that might have resulted from not disclosing this to the buyer of the property.
If you have any questions about selling or buying a home in Orange County, please give me a call at 714-319-9751.
My advice to my clients? Disclose, disclose, disclose! I think more disclosure is better than less disclosure. It protects my clients. If the buyer chooses not to buy, they choose not to do so. I believe this is far better than the possibility of litigation and unknown damages later, but then maybe that's just the attorney in me.
Originally published at Property Disclosures
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About the author: Christine Donovan is a California Residential Real Estate Broker with experience in assisting clients buy and sell residential real estate.
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