Home Sale Law in Ohio

Buying or selling a house can be an exciting but stressful time in a person's life. It also requires a person to make a large number of potentially life-changing financial and legal decisions.

In Summit County, Ohio, it's perfectly legal for individuals to buy and sell homes without the assistance of a third party. However, this isn't the only option, and isn't always the best option, either.

Many individuals, families, and small businesses rely on real estate brokers to find property for them. Real estate brokers are professionals who assist as middlemen or women between the buyers and sellers of real estate.

In Summit County, Ohio, real estate brokers are usually compensated with a percentage of the home's sale price.

Getting a Mortgage in Summit County, Ohio

First and foremost, if a buyer asks any question of the seller relating to physical defects in the property, the seller must, under all situations, be as truthful as possible. In this case being "as truthful as possible" means answering such questions to the best of your knowledge, and making reasonable efforts to find the answers if you don't know them. Lying in this case is very bad idea, and will expose you to serious civil penalties

There are some defects which should be disclosed whether asked or not. Any defect which the seller is aware of, and the buyer can't be reasonably expected to discover before buying the house, must be disclosed.

Buyers, however, are not off the hook in this matter. If they ignore defects that they could have easily discovered, they probably won't be able to recover for them.

Thus, buyers must inspect the property before they buy it. If they don't, they can't sue for any defects they later become aware of, if an inspection would have revealed those defects.

Can a Summit County, Ohio Real Estate Attorney help?

As you can imagine, there are many more legal and financial issues that can affect the outcome of a real estate transaction. However, buying a house is also a very exciting time for most people. A brilliant Summit County, Ohio real estate attorney can help you focus on the positive aspects, and avoid dealing with the most difficult and tedious (but nonetheless necessary) aspects.