Home Sale Law in Virginia

If you are in the process of buying or selling a home, you're likely 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 Radford, Virginia against persons buying or selling real estate on their own, this is rarely the ideal way to go, given the many legal issues surrounding the sale of property.

Therefore, it's typically 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.

Radford, Virginia real estate brokers are typically paid by taking a pre-determined portion of the house's sale price.

Getting a Mortgage in Radford, Virginia

Any direct questions asked of the seller by the buyer must be answered truthfully. This is particularly 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 significant 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.

Most substantial defects (those which have any effect on the value or safety of the home) should be disclosed even if the buyer doesn't ask about them. If the seller knows of a defect, and a reasonable buyer wouldn't be able to know it through a normal inspection, the seller must disclose it.

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

Usually, buyers have a duty to conduct a reasonable inspection of the property before buying it. Therefore, buyers typically can't recover for defects that could have been discovered via reasonable inspection, unless the seller actively conceals them.

Can a Radford, Virginia Real Estate Attorney help?

If you are buying a home in Radford, 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 reliable real estate attorney can make it much easier to focus on the aspects of home ownership that matter to you.