Buyers Inspections and disclosure

[Ed O.]

Scenario:
A buyer puts a property under contract, has a rigorous property inspection and includes a list of defects and requests some repairs be made.
If the buyer and seller are unable to come to an agreement and the contract falls through, is the seller now obligated to disclose all of the defects from the previous inspection to future buyers?
I was always under the impression this is a grey area and that the seller is not obligated. I'm checking for someone else and this isn't my deal. If it's a state-specific matter, the property is in Missouri.

thanks

[Chris Clothier]

Ed O., I think that is a tough conundrum. I have been looking for a reason to use that word for a long time! Sorry -

If the list of items are minor the question becomes why not fix them. If they are major, then are they so major that you should disclose them even if you are not required by law. I wrote about this on the BP blog a couple of weeks ago http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2012/11/06/full-disclosure-real-estate-deals/ titled "Does Full Disclosure Kill Real Estate Deals of Build Character or Both?" I think that the real answer to this lies within the seller and how serious they view the list of issues given to them by the inspector. If a seller is willing to let a deal fall apart by not fixing them, is he/she willing to let a deal fall apart by disclosing them?

As far as the legalities - I will leave that to someone on the site who may have experience in that.