Northern Virginia: Examining Seller's Disclosure Obligations Part 4- Dams, Storm-water Detention, Waste-water, Building Codes)
This discussion is focused on Northern Virginia and is experiential in nature, given my 16 years in this business. This discussion is NOT intended to provide legal advise or guidance. I am NOT an attorney and as such you should contact competent legal counsel for that advise and guidance.
This discussion is simply an examination of what my sellers and buyers often have to deal with when buying or selling properties in Northern Virginia.
THIS Article is NOT LEGAL GUIDANCE or ADVICE!
This discussion concerns the Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act: Remembering that Virginia is a "Caveat Emptor" state ("Buyer Beware") in most cases (with few exceptions), it is the buyer's obligation to satisfy themselves with the various conditions of the residential properties that they are attempting to buy in Virginia.
Continuing our series on the Virginia Seller Property Disclosure Act, the Chesapeake Bay region is surrounded by conservation efforts to protect the wildlife and habitat of the entire Chesapeake Bay. In the region, we are surrounded with many brooks, streams, rivers, and lakes that are affected by man-made dams which have altered the distribution and water flow of these water bodies. Man-made dams as well as natural waterways are prone to failure from time to time and those failures can cause catestrophic or minor flooding.
Because Virginia is a Caveat Emptor state, the laws in VA are structured to place the burden on the buyer to educate themselves regarding where there are dams in the area and whether or not those dams pose a risk of damage to the properties they are attempting to buy.
Similarly, because of Chesapeake wildlife preservation laws
, there are significant restrictions as to what can and can not be done to sewage, waste water runoff, drainage and other water related issues emanating from a residential property. Virginia law as a Caveat Emptor state, places the burden on the buyer for discovering what these laws are and how they might affect the property they are considering to purchase.
Like the previous blog articles in this series, it is important to understand that while the seller essentially usually"Disclaims" knowledge on all the peripheral and material facts surrounding the property, the truth is there is an element of exposure that comes with disclaiming anything. Even in a Caveat Emptor jurisdiction like Virginia.
Most Residential jurisdictions subscribe to building code standards that are universally accepted nationwide in the Building Officials Code Administrators International(BOCA). This means that there are minimum standards established that residential properties must conform to with regard to their habitability and specifically relate to renovations or improvements to properties as well. In addition, some jurisdictions add to the minimum standards established by the BOCA code with additional requirements.
Because Virginia law is a Caveat Emptor state, the obligation for discovering compliance to building codes is the burden of the buyer, before they purchase the property. Therefore, a buyer must satisfy themselves with their own qualified home inspector, engineer or other professional specialist to determine if a subject property is in compliance with local and nationwide building codes. Sellers usually disclaim knowledge of such compliance or violations in Virginia. So Buyer beware!
Yes, the law says that home owners may disclaim, and certainly most do. Yes, Virginia law makes it incumbent on the buyer to satisfy him/herself as to the peripheral and material conditions of the home. The fact that the law is predisposed in that fashion, some presuming buyer coming from Maryland, DC or some other NON-Caveat Emptor state, could still attempt to try to sue an owner in court over disclaimed issues that they feel a seller "should have" disclosed.
Anybody can sue anybody else over anything! Disclaiming is the most common practice in Virginia, but it does not insulate or protect much or protect from the need to fight frivolous lawsuits in the face of Caveat Emptor. Additionally, the presumptions of Caveat Emptor does NOT protect home owners for Latent Defects of a property either.
Sellers should always consider the benefits of disclosure regardless of their rights under the Caveat Emptor presumption in Virginia law. Regardless of disclaiming rights, the act of disclosure inherently tends to insulate a seller from liability and headache later.
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