Understanding Common Undisclosed Defects

There are three areas where buyers often discover sellers failed to disclose home defects and all involve water:

• Sewer backups
• Water intrusion through the roof
• A leaky basement

These issues are the three most common situations sellers will not fully disclose. All these problems are expensive to repair and sellers tend to hope for the best when putting a home on the market.

Under Ohio law every seller is required to complete a residential property disclosure form that mandates the seller disclose problems with the home in these three areas. The problems arise when they don’t. Often, sellers will not fully disclose the extent of a problem or fail to disclose it at all. By the time you find out the truth, they already have your money and you are stuck trying to get it back. To protect your interests, talk with a real estate attorney before signing a purchase agreement or closing on a purchase-sale transaction.