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Defect Disclosures

The better you understand defects and disclosures the better prepared you are to negotiate with the seller on which defects will be repaired and which will be reflected as a discount from your offer.

Home surveyors focus on two kinds of defects:

• Patent defects, or those that you can see, which may include water stains, ceiling cracks, sticky windows or sagging floors, and
• Latent defects, or those that are not readily visible, which could include faulty plumbing, asbestos ceilings or dry rot.
• Defects of either type could be trivial or serious. Only an inspection can help you decide which defects require immediate action and which can be postponed.

When a seller or estate agent reveals to you a material fact about the physical condition of a property, that’s called disclosure. A material fact is any information that can affect the price of the home or your decision to buy it at all.

This could include information about periodic flooding in the basement or a proposed commercial structure on nearby property. The Property Information Form which the seller is obliged to complete contains a mandatory section covering aspects of disclosure including problems with neighbours etc.