If my new home required an engineering fix during initial construction, will I have to disclose that when I sell my house?
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If my new home required an engineering fix during initial construction, will I have to disclose that when I sell my house?
My home builder installed a truss incorrectly, changing the load bearing point. In order to resolve, they had to get an engineer to provide a fix that shifted the load bearing point somewhere else. They were required to get a letter from said engineer to pass inspection. My concern is that when I eventually sell the house, I will have to disclose this as a defect and it will drive the price down. This was all
done during initial house construction, so we haven’t purchased the house yet.
Asked on September 28, 2018 under Real Estate Law, South Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
If it's been properly and fully fixed, it's not a defect anymore. You have no obligation to disclose the full history of repairs to your home, or what was necessary to get it to a code-compliant and safe state. Your only obligation is to inform the buyer of *existing* issues or problems, but something that has been fixed is not an issue or problem. So if the fix "took" and there is no longer a problem, you do not need to disclose.
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