Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Do Contracts require verbal disclosures
Is a home builder (contractor) required by law to disclose, verbally, all issues of a sale that may not be considered ''Normal'' to the property and home - or at least bring the buyers attention to it in the contract? i.e.: My daughter just purchased her first home and then found that the contractor had installed 5 flagpoles in her tiny backyard for advertising purposes. This was never mentioned during the sale and the flagpoles did not appear until the home was finished, walk-throughs accomplished, and most of the paperwork completed. As we found out, there was normally a separate ''Disclosure'' concerning the flagpoles for the buyer to sign. This had now been incorporated into the contract, but was not mentioned during the signing. When my daughter found the flagpoles and brought this up to the lady handling the paperwork, she was surprised because the normal flagpole ''Disclosure'' papers were not there. She did not even know it had been incorporated into the contract. My daughter does not want the flagpoles in her backyard. Does she have any recourse?
5 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Do Contracts require verbal disclosures
It depends on how the contracts reads. You said that she never agreed to the flags, yet they were in the contract. This does not make sense, unless her signature was forged or that this was added later and incorporated by reference.
Re: Do Contracts require verbal disclosures
How was it incorporated into the contract?
Joel Selik
www.4thelaw.com
Attorney At Law-Real Estate Broker
800-894-2889
Re: Do Contracts require verbal disclosures
If there is an easement for the flagpoles, this should be covered by the title report. If the easement is recorded but is not in the title report, the title insurance company should take care of the problem.
If the contract requires you to permit the flag poles to remain in the yard, there should be a limited period of time for this. You should have an attorney review the contract and the facts to advise you.
Re: Do Contracts require verbal disclosures
When someone buys a new home from a builder, usually the paperwork that is filled out by the employees is an offer to purchase, which is then accepted by the builder. Only items that are in the original contract, or later added with both parties signatures, is part of the contract.
If your sister did not sign anything relating to the flagpoles, then she has not agreed to them. She can demand that they be removed within a reasonable time, and if they are not, remove them herself and sue for the damages.
Re: Do Contracts require verbal disclosures
One final observation: While the law requires many disclosures, and many others may be necessary to avoid exposure to claims of fraud or misrepresentation, the law never, as far as I know, requires a disclosure to be oral (a better term than 'verbal' because 'verbal' literally means 'in words' rather than 'spoken'); statutes requiring disclosures almost invariably require the disclosures to be in writing.
Also, any disclosure, to carry out its intended effect, must be made before the contract is signed. After-the-fact disclosures of material matters would be ineffective.
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