getting out of a contract

[krellum]

My wife and I are transferring from MN to VA. While on a househunting trip to VA in April, we signed a contract to buy a home, contingent upon a home inspection.

The inspection, however, revealed numerous problems with the home - mainly some structural water damage to the floor joists, basement dampness, and small leaks in the roof. We wish to be released from the contract, but the seller and his broker refuse, saying that since the seller is willing to make the necessary repairs, that we're bound to the contract.

Our argument is that we never would have purchased the home if we had known about these problems - especially the damp basement (which is a problem that the seller really can't "fix"). None of these problems were disclosed by the seller (seller knew that the roof had leaked and claimed after the fact that he didn't disclose it because he had repaired it, however, we never would have bought any home which had any kind of history of roof problems, save those corrected by replacing the roof - shouldn't he have disclosed it anyway?)

Can anyone offer any advice? can we get out of this?


Thanks!

ron

 

[HomeGuru]

Originally posted by krellum:
My wife and I are transferring from MN to VA. While on a househunting trip to VA in April, we signed a contract to buy a home, contingent upon a home inspection.

The inspection, however, revealed numerous problems with the home - mainly some structural water damage to the floor joists, basement dampness, and small leaks in the roof. We wish to be released from the contract, but the seller and his broker refuse, saying that since the seller is willing to make the necessary repairs, that we're bound to the contract.

Our argument is that we never would have purchased the home if we had known about these problems - especially the damp basement (which is a problem that the seller really can't "fix"). None of these problems were disclosed by the seller (seller knew that the roof had leaked and claimed after the fact that he didn't disclose it because he had repaired it, however, we never would have bought any home which had any kind of history of roof problems, save those corrected by replacing the roof - shouldn't he have disclosed it anyway?)

Can anyone offer any advice? can we get out of this?

You did not mention if you have your own real estate agent. I do hope that you do otherwise you have no advocate in the transaction. You do have an out if the sales contract was contingent not only upon completion of the home inspection but your full approval of the results of the home inspection. That means that there must be a home inspection completed AND you must approve of the codition of the home based on the home inspectors findings. If the contract was written with only the contingency of getting a home inspection then once this task was completed you are obligated to buy the home no matter what the results are. As you can see, not a wise approach. If the contract was written such that, if the home inspection uncovers defects and the seller agrees to and fixes the listed defects, the buyer is obligated to buy, then you are liable.

There are conditions though, such as you have mentioned, whereby it can be argued that a certain condition such as the damp basement can not be fixed or fixed properly which may give you the right to cancel the contract. You should consult with legal counsel in the State of VA experienced in real estate seller disclosure matters for his/her opinion after review of the contract documents.
If only the Seller had a real estate agent and you did not, there is a question of dual agency and possibly a violation of the real estate agents' duty and standard of care to you not as a client but as the customer/buyer. In this instance, based on your comments, there appears to be improper disclosure on the part of the seller for misrepresentation and/or non-disclosure of material facts and standard of care liability on the part of the Sellers real estate agent.
The Seller should have disclosed the condition and history of the roof regardless of it being fixed. You could raise the issue of " what else was a problem that the Seller fixed and decided not to disclose?" The home inspection is a general visual nondestructive inspection so if there were other defects that were fixed by the Seller the home inspector may not have seen it. Keep in mind that this contract and the disclosure falls under the laws of Virginia where the subject property is located and not under the laws in the State of MN where you reside in.