Disclosures in home buying/selling

[Pikemommy]

How long have the people lived there? It may not be dishonesty on their part but more of a do we say there's a crack if we have never had it checked and don't know if it's structural or cosmetic. OR they could have had it inspected when they moved in and it was proven to be cosmetic and not structural.
We were honest with our disclosure FWIW, we had nothing to hide.

[HeatherlovesCDs]

We have never had any issues to disclose. If we knew of something, we definitely would. But, I wouldn't disclose a crack in the slab if I didn't know it was an issue. If I was assuming it was cosmetic, I wouldn't even think anything needed to be disclosed.

I'm sure you are going to have a home inspection, right? You can mention it to make sure he checks it out even though I'm sure he will.

That said, I do find the change odd and might question it. On the other hand, I sometimes mark the wrong box on forms I fill out for the dr. (or whatever) simply because I'm going too quickly. It could have been a simple error, but I might ask my Realtor to find out for me.

(We have sold 2, bought 4 and are closing on our 5th on Friday.)

[Kimmyann]

Make sure you or your husband are present for the home inspection and be sure to point everything you are concerned about out to the inspector.

[ohgirlohboyohno]

Originally Posted by Pikemommy How long have the people lived there? It may not be dishonesty on their part but more of a do we say there's a crack if we have never had it checked and don't know if it's structural or cosmetic. OR they could have had it inspected when they moved in and it was proven to be cosmetic and not structural. We were honest with our disclosure FWIW, we had nothing to hide.

See that's what I was wondering.....

Originally Posted by HeatherlovesCDs We have never had any issues to disclose. If we knew of something, we definitely would. But, I wouldn't disclose a crack in the slab if I didn't know it was an issue. If I was assuming it was cosmetic, I wouldn't even think anything needed to be disclosed. I'm sure you are going to have a home inspection, right? You can mention it to make sure he checks it out even though I'm sure he will. That said, I do find the change odd and might question it. On the other hand, I sometimes mark the wrong box on forms I fill out for the dr. (or whatever) simply because I'm going too quickly. It could have been a simple error, but I might ask my Realtor to find out for me. (We have sold 2, bought 4 and are closing on our 5th on Friday.)

I probably wouldn't have even thought of it if they hadn't crossed out their answer on the disclosure...like they had a question or concern and changed their mind...and yes, we are hving the inspections. Around here foundation problems are EVERYWHERE....our realtor said he would be surprised to see a house without a problem.

Originally Posted by Kimmyann Make sure you or your husband are present for the home inspection and be sure to point everything you are concerned about out to the inspector.

I need to make sure but one of us will be there...if not both.

[joeslittlewoman]

It is possible they had an inspection done and were told it was cosmetic. The ground settles and shifts a lot here, and several foundation/pier companies told us our small cracks weren't bed enough to need structural repair and to wait for spring and the cracks would come back together. A year later, they were actually bad enough to need repair (though nothing big)...just as we put the house on the market. Definitely hire a structural engineer to inspect so you know for sure. I found many piering companies had differing opinions on if and where piers were needed. Because of the differing opinions our realtor recommended an engineer so we weren't at risk for a lawsuit down the line if the foundation did need work.

[danner]

We're 100% honest on the form we need to fill out. But we think it's a bad house and we want it to be someone else's problem asap. But that's not a disclosure thing, just an opinion. I'm not sure what I'd even say. I just don't think it was built well, same goes for all houses of its ilk in my neighborhood. I'm going to feel a little bad for the chumps who end up with it, but what can I do? Hopefully it will make someone very happy is all I can rest easy on.