If you are interested in more information regarding Langley real estate, I encourage you to sign up for my monthly newsletter.
I often get questions from my clients regarding just what constitutes a Latent Defect. The question usually comes up when we are discussing the listing of their home and I mention that we must disclose all Latent Defects. Panic usually sets in and they immediately want to know exactly what they have to disclose and what they don’t.
It really isn’t that complicated. If something in your home can not be found by a reasonable person during a routine inspection, that would be considered a Latent Defect. In other words if you had a water leak inside a wall and you had been t0ld about it by a plumber. That’s a Latent Defect. You think it doesn’t show yet and there isn’t any damage that can be seen. So you decided to sell the the home before it causesmajor damage and just not tell anyone. Caveat emptor right! Wrong, this is a Latent Defect and you will probably be sued by the purchaser for damaged and numerous other things. In other words it is going to cost you a lot of money either way. However, the cheapest way is still to get the damage repaired and then sell the home if you still want to. Two things will happen this way. Your not worried about the knock on the door serving you papers and believe it or not, you will sleep better at night.
If you think the Latent Defect is of such a nature that it will be some time before it shows its ugly head and therefore the statute of limitations will run out and you will be home free Wrong again Sorry. The Courts have ruled that the clock doesn’t start ticking on the statute of limitations until the Plaintiff becomes aware of the problem. The bottom line is, even if you go 5 years and don’t hear anything it could still be hanging over your head because the buyer doesn’t know yet. Again best practice is to disclose those Latent Defects now and live with the consequesnces Again Sorry.
