Home Sale Law in Virginia
If you are in the process of buying or selling a home, you're probably already aware of the many legal, financial, and other issues that can affect the process and outcome of such a transaction.
While there are no laws in Portsmouth, Virginia against individuals buying or selling real estate on their own, this is rarely the best way to go, given the many legal issues surrounding the sale of property.
Therefore, it's normally a good idea to use a real estate broker for these transactions. A real estate broker is a professional who helps people buy and sell property. They can help buyers find sellers, and vice versa. They can also handle a large percentage of the tedious details.
Portsmouth, Virginia real estate brokers are normally paid by taking a pre-determined portion of the house's sale price.
Getting a Mortgage in Portsmouth, Virginia
Any direct questions asked of the seller by the buyer must be answered truthfully. This is especially the case if the buyer asks about defects in the property. If the seller lies in response to such questions, they have just committed a very serious form of fraud. If the buyer later discovers this defect (after buying the property) he can sue the seller for any physical or financial harm caused by it.
In addition to disclosing any material facts the buyer directly inquires about, most "latent defects" in a house or other piece of property should be disclosed whether the buyer asks or not. Typically, any defect that the seller knows about and that the buyer can't be expected to discover through a reasonable inspection, it has to be disclosed.
Of course, buyers are also expected to conduct due diligence. In a lawsuit for nondisclosure, courts won't reward a lack of diligence.
Typically, buyers have a duty to conduct a reasonable inspection of the property before buying it. Therefore, buyers normally can't recover for defects that could have been discovered via reasonable inspection, unless the seller actively conceals them.
Can a Portsmouth, Virginia Real Estate Attorney help?
If you are buying a home in Portsmouth, Virginia, there are probably things you want to focus on other than paperwork and required inspections, such as the process of moving in, checking out schools, etc. A brilliant real estate attorney can make it much easier to focus on the aspects of home ownership that matter to you.