Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Ohio

Re: disclosure statement

Dear Purchaser: Section 5302.30 R.C., requires sellers of residential real property to make honest, full disclosure, ��in good faith�� , of all known defects, in writing, in an affidavit form, signed by the Sellers and presented to Purchasers.

These rules apply to ��any transfer of residential real property that occurs on or after July 1, 1993, by sale, land installment contract, lease with option to purchase, exchange, or lease for a term of ninety-nine years and renewable forever. For purposes of this section, a transfer occurs when the initial contract for transfer is executed, regardless of when legal title is transferred��

The form requires ��a statement of the conditions of the property and of information concerning the property actually known by the transferor; that, unless the transferee is otherwise advised in writing, the transferor, other than having lived at or owning the property, possesses no greater knowledge than that which could be obtained by a careful inspection of the property by a potential transferee; that the statement is not a warranty of any kind by the transferor or by any agent or subagent representing the transferor in this transaction; that the statement is not a substitute for any inspections; that the transferee is encouraged to obtain his/her own professional inspection; that the represent-ations are made by the transferor and are not the representations of the transferor's agent or subagent; and that the form and the representations contained therein are provided by the transferor exclusively to potential transferees in a transfer made by the transferor, and are not made to transferees in any subsequent transfers.

You may be entitled to a rescission of the sale, and refund of your total purchase price, together with damages for deception.

Retain an experienced Attorney to guide and represent you, ASAP. Good luck.

Sincerely, J. Norman Stark.

Re: disclosure statement

You have to prove that the owner knew about the defect prior to the sale to recover. The disclosure statement is not helpful as the owner did not live there. You would have a better chance of going after your inspector for failing to discover the defect in the course of his duties.