Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia

We were looking for a home with the rent-to-own option. The man showed us the home, and said that after 30 days we would be responsible for any repairs but that he would fix what we found until within 30 day that time. Within the first couple of days, we saw things that needed repair. We called him numerous times and he would never answer his phone. We left messages that went unreturned. We have since found out that the mobile home has had numerous issues that this man, a �Christian� failed to disclose to us. Once we began asking questions to our neighbor, she told us the issues.

The couple that tried to live here before us told the landlord there was a leak in the water heater, which he refused to repair. There was a leak in the kitchen from an ice maker that destroyed the kitchen floor. The sink in the kitchen had a very bad leak rotting the floor to where the sink bows in the middle.

My wife, whom has diabetes, has fallen from the sink holes in the carpet that have showed up in our bedroom floor. There are now only beams that she can step on to get to the closet or her side of the bed. When we first noticed the floor issue, within a week of being here, we called, left messages, and he would never pick up his phone nor would he return any messages. We were told that we had to get our own insurance, that�s really hard to do considering he will not tell us the year or make of the mobile home. We feel so deceived by this man for not disclosing issues with this home.

We need to know our rights and what we can do to get our home fixed. We don�t have lots of money to try to repair a place that needs more done than we can afford. The issues with the home should have been told to us; I feel as if he purposely didn�t disclose the issues, for if he had told us we would have never moved into this home. We continue to pay this man his monthly payments. I want to know if we can hold payments until it�s fixed, or if there is a law protecting us from people like this man; or if we can hold the rent payments to fix the home. As of now, the whole bedroom floor needs replaced, the kitchen floor needs replaced, the counter that holds the sink needs to be fixed after the kitchen floor is fixed.

Can you tell us our rights so that we can wither get this mess fixed or get our money back and move. If we stay here, were going have to put in thousands of dollars to repair it; things that this man knew needed repaired before we ever moved in. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Asked on 4/18/12, 7:28 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Under Virginia law, a seller is under no obligation to disclose defects

or impaired conditions in property to a prospective buyer UNLESS this

buyer asks specific questions regarding these defective/impaired conditions

whereupon the seller must then truthfully disclose them to such a buyer or

he could be liable for misrepresentation and/or fraud in the transaction.

And since your question appears to give no indication that you ever initiated such inquiries prior to signing the purchase agreement, you would appear

to be without a viable remedy other than getting out of there as fast as you can

get (in my opinion).

Furthermore, FYI, renting to own or contract for deed is probably the

worst way there is to buy real property since you own nothing until the

various last installment payment in the contract is made and if the seller were

die in the meantime, the property would go to his heirs and most definitely

NOT to you or yours.

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Answered on 4/22/12, 12:10 pm


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