Do they have to answer?

7 years ago

I found a house, asked my agent if anything was wrong with it. She said there was fungus in the crawlspace. She asked the seller's agent if it was repaired. They never responded and now my agent wants to know what to do. My lender requires an inspection, so I guess we will find out anyway, so maybe it doesn't matter if they answer. The state is Virginia. Do they have to answer the question about the fungus being repaired or not?

Featured Answer

homechef59

7 years ago

No, they do not have to respond at this point. If they know about it, it must be on the disclosure statement. Your agent needs to request a copy of the disclosure statement prior to your offer for you to examine.

The fungal situation can be repaired. Don't be afraid of that. It can be a simple problem or a difficult problem. You will need to find out.

I think what your agent is asking is do you want to proceed further? That's your decision.

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Comments (9)

sushipup1
7 years ago
Your inspection wll be a more meaningful answer. I don't know about your state, but there should be a written disclosure regarding work done on the house in the past. It souldn't like you haven't made an offer yet. If that's the case, the sellers don't need to respond.
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ncrealestateguy
7 years ago
Get the home under your control by getting it under contract, and then worry about any items the inspection may find.
User
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
If a defect develops over the course of the life of a home and it is totally repaired, must it be disclosed at a future time when the home is being offered for sale? 30 years later? Two owners later?

Just curious.
seabornman
7 years ago
You only have to answer the questions on the disclosure form. The only question on my last form that referred to prior conditions asked if there had been an underground fuel tank removal.
User
7 years ago
This is not the case in MD - nor at the time, in ant State in which I bought or sold.
greg_2015
7 years ago
If the fungus had been fixed, then I'm assuming at least the disclosure form would state that it was a previous problem and was no longer there, if it's mentioned at all.

If it just says there's fungus, then there's fungus there currently.
porkchop_z5b_MI
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
"If a defect develops over the course of the life of a home and it is totally repaired, must it be disclosed at a future time when the home is being offered for sale? "

In my state, yes if the question is asked on the disclosure form, and the devil is in the wording of the question; e.g. Basement/crawlspace: Has there been evidence of water? If yes, please explain. So you better be honest and fess up, otherwise it can come back to bite you in the butt down the line. I actually did disclose a couple of known issues, even though repaired, and am glad I did because every so often I get an email from the buyer asking vague questions under the guise of not knowing how something works or "Did you ever...?" --> my sixth sense tells me they're looking to pin something on me. Nope, not gonna happen - it was all disclosed.
User
7 years ago
40 years ago a previous owner had some termites... damage was repaired completely. Twenty years ago you bought the hose and that termite info was disclosed. You want to sell again... must you disclose the 40 year ago event?