Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia
I purchased my house August 2010. I recently found out that I have hail damage caused from a storm in May 2010. Is the previous home owner responsible?
1 Answer from Attorneys
No, not under applicable Virginia law which imposes no general duty
on the seller to disclose defects in a property up for sale to a prospective
buyer UNLESS this buyer asks specific questions regarding a particular condition or defect concerning the property and in which case the
seller must truthfully respond to such questions and fully disclose whatever defects there may be regarding the matter which the buyer has inquired about and must not engage in any misreprentations regarding any issues reasonably raised by the buyer's inquiries.
However, in a case such as yours, if you failed to specifically ask the seller
as to whether the property had incurred any recent damage due to weather events, under Virginia law the buyer would've been under no legal obligation to disclose such damage to which you refer.
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