Question:
You sell a property, the buyers don’t include inspection condition. Upon closing and moving in, they discover damages that occurred from a previous leaky washing machine (leak has been repaired).
Can they now have a claim against the seller (seller did not know of damages as it was a rental property) or is it fair to say, why didn’t you include a home inspection condition? They would have easily been able to discover the damages had they had a home inspection (basically the damage is the washroom vanity closest to the washing machine, is all swollen up and damaged from wicking up all that moisture).
Answer:
Caveat emptor applies. The Buyers should have had a home inspection, but they failed to get one.
It looks like they have lost all their rights as against the Seller. There were no statements or other representations made after the Agreement was struck. So, the entire agreement provision applies. The only chance would be if the Buyer could prove that all the damage occurred afer the deal was struck and before closing. That’s probably quite difficult. It was likely there for years.
The only realistic possibility is a claim against their own agent for missing this. But, what’s the value here? Clearly less than $1,000.00. so it’s not worth it.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker