Fair disclosure in listings
Hello! We recently looked at a great home, near a creek, with a wooded backyard, on about an acre. It is in a great neighborhood. We made an offer and it was accepted!!! The following day we received the Seller Disclosure and it noted foundation repairs. We had noticed some stair-step cracking in the mortar of a few concrete blocks during our visit. That type of cracking is not uncommon, but we still asked for additional details. Well, we received several pages, including drawings engineered by a company 4.5 hours away. The helical pile work (14 of them @ $17k) was performed by a nationally known company. We were shocked to learn that major surgery had been performed to the FOUNDATION just 11 months prior. Of course we backed out of the deal when we read the part about "...additional piles may be required...." My question: Wouldn't it "right" for those listing structures with known issues, to disclose the issues prior to soliciting offers? In this case a licensed realtor wrote the listing, somehow it would be easier to accept if a non-licensed seller had created it. I'll be offline for a while, but just wonder what the consensus is. THANKS!