Expert: liznarr - 5/13/2009

Question
I recently purchased a home "As is" with no warranty or inspection (in Minnesota).  Is the seller still obligated to to disclose known water damages/problems?

Answer
Hi Jennifer,

You would need to check with the Real Estate Commission of your State for your State’s disclosure laws.  Different states may have different laws as they relate to statutorily-required seller disclosure forms and disclosure of material defects (by definition, a defect that could affect a buying decision).

In SC where I work, there are exclusions to our Seller’s Residential Property Disclosure Form, which includes tax sales, bank-owned foreclosures, recently-completed new construction and possibly others.  

Also in SC, our real estate law states that if an agent or Seller knows of a material defect it must be disclosed.  In other words, if the defect is one that, if it was known in advance of a purchase could have caused a Buyer to NOT purchase (i.e., an expensive or hard to correct problem), then it should be disclosed.

If your purchase is on a property that excludes the Seller from providing a statutorily-required disclosure form, you next need to ask about disclosure of material defects…on a property where no disclosure form was required to be signed by the Seller.

I hope this is helpful information.  Good luck to you, and feel free to write again if you have additional questions.

Regards,
Elizabeth