Why a Land purchaser can sue the seller for lack of disclosure of information about Land/Property
As a land purchaser, you deserve to be told of any defects relating to the piece of land you are buying. Defects such as flooding should be made known to the purchase so as to help him or her make an informed decision.
If the person, or organization selling the land or the property to you fails to disclose any defects during the process of property transfer, you may opt to seek the services of a lawyer, or may decide to settle this whole matter outside of a courtroom, depending on the real estate disclosure laws. This also depends on how far gone you are in the purchase process.
Real Estate disclosure laws are the laws that are supposed to disclose information to a prospective buyer of any defects that may potentially affect the value of the property. These laws differ and a land seller should not wait for a buyer to ask a question but rather should volunteer information about their property.
The information about the defects of land, are shared through a real estate disclosure form. The seller or the owner of the property outlines details about their property and should include facts such as the square footage as well as all other negative information.
Although the property sellers do not necessarily need to disclose any information they do not know, if it is proven that some information was known and omitted, the seller would be subject to the consequences that will follow.
For any non-disclosure of material facts, the land or property seller is liable to the buyer. The seller is also liable to the buyer in the event of concealment or suppression of facts, negligent misinterpretation of facts as well as intentional misinterpretation of facts.
Failure of disclosure before a Sale
In the event that a seller of a property fails to disclose vital information about a sale before signing of any legal documents, one may go ahead and decide to cancel on the purchase. This is less costly as compared to suing. This is also less time consuming.
A buyer is guaranteed by the law the right to cancel a transaction due to the discovery of certain facts. Attorneys in the real estate market recommend occurrences where buyers are given an out in the residential purchase agreement. This guarantees the purchasers a refund of all the money held as deposit for their goods. If your sale agreement contains this type of contingency then you can be able to cancel a transaction and walk away without losing your money.
Failure to disclose after a Sale
When we make a discovery of any defects after the purchase of a parcel of land, we may need the assistance of a lawyer. You may need the help of a lawyer as this matter can be resolved in a courtroom.
The matter can either be solved in a courtroom or the dissatisfied land purchaser can make arrangements to meet up with the seller to determine whether they can settle the matter by working out an agreement to sort the issue at hand, or not.
In some instances, the sale agreement states that before either of the parties (the seller and the purchaser) file for a lawsuit, they must first try mediation as a means of solving the misunderstanding.
Some sale agreements will require that the dispute between the seller and the purchaser must not be litigated; thus, avoiding the process of legal action. In this case scenario, the use of private dispute resolution procedure is implored and both parties do not have to go to court.
In the event that the purchaser does indeed sue the seller, they may also include monetary damages. This is as a result of the seller withholding information on the property. He or she may also go ahead and include damages for the fair market value in comparison to the amount that he or she paid for.
We at Denver Group Limited have plots for sale in Malaa at an affordable price. Speak to us to book a free site visit 0701 730 267.
