Bitten by a dog? Act now to preserve your rights!

Dale's Blog

Homeowner agreements and unexpected defects

Sometimes selling a house goes smoothly. Sometimes it doesn't. If, say, a water leak is discovered when the utilities are turned back on, it can trigger a clause in some purchase agreements requiring the seller to pay for any repairs or replacements, as I explained in this column for the Toledo Blade.

Begin by understanding that the purchase agreement is a contract, so if it calls for the seller to be responsible for certain repairs, the seller is responsible. If the seller didn't want to assume that risk, he should have crossed out that clause in the purchase agreement.

Normally, the old rule of buyer beware governs home purchases in Ohio. That means the buyer takes the property as is unless the defect wasn't open to observation or discoverable after a reasonable inspection. The seller doesn't have to reveal every problem with the home as long as those problems could be discovered and the buyer had the opportunity to conduct an inspection. State law requires disclosure of such things as problems with the home s roof, foundation, walls, and floors provided the seller actually knows about the problems.

A seller can't lie to a buyer about a material flaw on the property that is somehow hidden or not obvious. For example, if a seller knows he has a leaky roof, but tells the buyer the roof is sound, and after the first rainstorm there are so many leaks that the buyer needs an umbrella in his house, a fraud has been committed. The buyer can sue for fraudulent misrepresentation.

In this case, if the seller didn't know about the bad water line and hadn't signed off on the clause calling for him to be responsible, the buyer probably would have bought the water-line repair along with the home.