During the sale of a property, every seller must not only limit themselves to knowing everything they say, but also say everything they know.
Buying a property is not always a source of joy, despite all the precautions that buyers can take.
Thus, a couple wishing to purchase a condo has it inspected by an expert and also consults their lawyer, who is also the sellers' lawyer.
The couple acquires the condo, but six months later, the condominium association notifies all owners that, following a report by an expert, a special assessment of $30,000 must be paid by each owner for work on the roof. A month later, before this work begins, another problem arises: the buyers' condo suffers significant damage caused by water infiltration in a wall.
The buyers turn to the Court and seek compensation for latent defects. During the trial, it is demonstrated that twenty days before signing the sales contract, the owners, at their annual meeting attended by the sellers, instructed an expert to address the water infiltration problem that had been present for several years. The evidence revealed that in the sales contract, the sellers declared that, to their knowledge, there were "no factors that would reduce the value of the condo."
In addition, the sellers informed their real estate agent about the water infiltration problem, but the agent did not mention it to the buyers. The Court concludes that even if the sellers "did mention this defect to the buyers, they did not mention it enough. The description was on the border between what was enough and what was not sufficient."
When selling a building, a seller must not only limit themselves to knowing everything they say but also say everything they know.
*CA 500-09-020092-094
