Seller's disclosure
Answers to real estate questions as appearing
in the Houston Chronicle
By george stephens, CRB, AND Charles J. "Chuck" Jacobus, JD
Dear George: We purchased a home two months ago and have since found out that our homeowners association requires that some repairs be made. The previous owner was told of the issues by the HOA before we purchased the house, but he didn't disclose the information to us. We can't afford to make the repairs within the time frame required by the HOA. Also, we discovered a major problem involving the plumbing. Again, this issue was not disclosed by the seller. What can we do?
Answer: It appears that the previous owner failed to disclose material facts regarding the property's condition. Contact your justice of the peace court. Make sure you have copies of all paperwork related to your purchase, especially the Seller's Disclosure Notice and the property inspection report. However, if you had an inspection performed and any of these issues were mentioned in the report, it will probably be an uphill battle to convince the judge that you suffered damages.
E-mail your question to "Ask George & Chuck" or fax it to 281/596-7591. The answers to questions in this column do not contain legal advice. If you wish to obtain legal advice, you should consult your own attorney.
George Stephens, CRB, is the broker of ERA Stephens Properties. He is licensed as a mortgage broker in Texas and a real estate broker in Texas, Georgia, and Massachusetts.
Charles J. Jacobus, JD, is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Residential and Commercial Real Estate Law, and the author of Texas Real Estate Law and Texas Real Estate, both published by Thomson Publishing. He also teaches at Champions School of Real Estate and Houston Community College, and is an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center.
George and Chuck are co-authors of Texas
Real Estate Brokerage and Law of Agency published by Thomson Publishing.
