Seller Disclosure Claims
You closed, you moved in, and then you found the thing nobody told you about. The question is whether the seller was legally required to tell you, and whether you can prove they knew.
Michigan requires the seller of most residential property to deliver a written disclosure statement before a binding agreement is formed. It asks about the condition of the roof, the basement, the plumbing, the electrical, the well and septic, past flooding, structural problems and a list of other items. The obligation is to disclose known conditions honestly.
That last word carries the weight. The statute does not require a seller to inspect their own house or to know what they do not know. It requires them not to lie about what they do know. Which is why nearly every one of these cases turns on the same issue: what the seller was actually aware of at the time they signed.
What a buyer can actually bring
Fraudulent misrepresentation
An affirmative false statement about a material condition, made knowingly, that the buyer reasonably relied on in deciding to purchase. Marking no water in the basement while a sump pump failure and a repair invoice sit in the seller's files is the ordinary example.
Silent fraud
Michigan also recognizes liability for suppressing the truth where there was a duty to speak. Answering a direct question in a technically true but misleading way, or actively concealing a defect, can support a claim even without a flatly false statement. Fresh paint over a known active leak is not a repair.
Innocent misrepresentation and contract claims
Depending on the facts and the agreement, other routes may exist. Which theory fits is a legal question worth getting right early, because the theories carry different proofs and different exposure.
Selling as is generally allocates the risk of unknown defects to the buyer, and it defeats a great many complaints. It does not license a seller to conceal a known problem or to answer the disclosure statement falsely. Sellers routinely believe it does.
What these cases turn on
Almost every disclosure case comes down to evidence that the seller knew. Buyers who go looking for that evidence do considerably better than buyers who rely on how obvious the defect seems in hindsight.
- The signed disclosure statement itself, and exactly how each relevant item was answered
- Prior repair invoices, contractor estimates and insurance claims on the property
- Permit records, or the absence of permits for work that plainly required them
- Prior listings and photographs, which sometimes show the condition or the repair
- Statements to neighbors, agents or contractors before the sale
- Your own inspection report and what it did or did not flag
- The cost to remediate, quoted properly, since that usually defines the value of the claim
How these matters run
- Document the condition nowPhotograph and preserve the defect before it is repaired. Repairing first and asking later is the most common way a good claim is weakened.
- The file gets readDisclosure statement, purchase agreement, inspection report and closing documents, against the actual condition and what it will cost to fix.
- Knowledge gets investigatedPermits, prior listings, invoices and repair history. The case is about what the seller knew, so that is where the work goes.
- Demand or filingMany of these resolve on a documented demand once the seller understands the evidence exists. Where they do not, the claim is filed.
Questions about undisclosed defects
I bought the house as is. Do I have any claim at all?
Possibly. As is shifts the risk of unknown defects to you, and it defeats many complaints. It does not protect a seller who knowingly gave false answers on the disclosure statement or actively concealed a defect. The distinction is between what the seller did not know and what they hid.
My inspector missed it. Does that end it?
Not necessarily, and it does not automatically excuse a seller who lied. It can raise a question about whether your reliance was reasonable, particularly where the defect was visible. It may also raise a separate question about the inspection itself.
How long do I have to bring this?
There are deadlines and they vary by the theory pleaded. Do not assume you have years. If you have discovered a significant undisclosed condition, treat it as time sensitive rather than waiting to see how bad it gets.
Should I repair it first and sue for the cost?
Get it documented thoroughly before anything is touched, and get advice before major remediation where you can. Photographs, video, moisture readings and written contractor assessments protect the claim. An urgent safety or water issue should still be made safe.
Document it before you repair it.
[PHONE]Matters with a closing date, a filing deadline or a hearing already on the calendar are handled by phone.