contract-law real-estate probate homeownership
Does a real estate buyer have recourse to recover fees related to an offer due to seller not disclosing probate period?
<p>I live in the state of Massachusetts and recently put in an offer for a home.
The seller is actually 4 owners for which one passed recently (last year).<br />
During title search, it was found that there was a probate period with unknown period of time to clear. In fact, my attorney brought it up to the Seller team and apparently they had not even submitted a &quot;S petition&quot; to amend the title yet. This probate period was not disclosed to us in writing and in fact, we agreed to a closing date within the normal ~1.5 months from initial offer.</p>
<p>From the buyer perspective, I would have not put in an offer had I known this could potentially drag on.  I already accrued fees for attorney, appraisal and inspection. If I walk away from the deal, those are lost.</p>
<p>For now, we are looking to salvage the situation by giving them 6 months to clear probate. Clearly, this ties my deposit and I cannot put an offer for other potential houses. But should the worst situation arise (where I have to pull out of the deal), my direct question is whether I have enough standing to pursue them for the expense I incurred due to their error and actually win?</p>

<p>There is no general duty to disclose in real estate sales, except as statutorily mandated. The burden is on the buyer to ask the relevant questions, and not over-interpret what was said. In Massachusetts, there is actually a law stating that non-disclosure is legally irrelevant <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter93/Section114" rel="nofollow noreferrer">in certain cases</a> (e.g. &quot;was the site of a felony or suicide&quot;). There are statutes requiring a person to disclose known lead paint and septic systems, otherwise there is no duty on the seller to disclose, instead the law follows the doctrine <em>caveat emptor</em>. Therefore, you must first ask, and not assume anything about the property or the title.</p>
