Should I reveal structural issues to selling agent

My house has some structural issues above the ceilings in the bedrooms. Years ago I renovated the ceilings in the lounge room as they were sagging etc. I ripped out the old plaster and paid a builder to replace all the timber work and got it re-plastered. The reason I didn't do it in the bedrooms was bc they have nice old patterns in the plaster (my house dates back to 'pre-war'). The last time I was up in the ceiling I tried to walk on the timber work above one of the bedrooms and it felt like it was going to give way / collapse. Obviously above the lounge room area its as strong as an ox.

Anyways Im about to put it on the market with an auction. My agent says most buyers in this area will get building reports done.

If a builder gets up there and isn't aware of the problem he could maybe cause major damage. This would evidently be disasterous for my auction.

Questions:
1. If a builder did cause damage would he be liable to fix / pay or does the agent have insurance for this?
2. Should I tell the agent? My only reason for not revealing this to the agent is that the builder might not find the problem. Some of them might just poke their head up in the man hole and maybe he will only walk to the middle part of the house where the lounge room area is. The agent could use the information against me indirectly by bringing this up during negotiations (eg if it gets passed in and negotiated after the auction). A price reduction for any agent is a big plus for them if it gets a sale- effectively it doesn't usually affect their commission much.
3. If I tell the agent is he legally bound to tell all serious buyers about this prior to auction (even if the building report doesn't reveal it?

Many thanks for any opinions on this.

 

In NSW it is no longer caveat emptor but full disclosure. You risk being sued for covering up even if you get an exchanged contract for sale.

 

I disagree re being sued. There's a clause in the contract protecting me from this. The purchaser buys the house with all issues. After the hammer falls in an auction there is no cooling off period and thus all this is a non issue.

 

I have a client currently being sued by a purchaser for a new roof, claiming cover-up. Might be successful or might not be, (court case pending) either way it is very stressful for her.

 

Apart from ethical issues, this is a question for your solicitor as to the legal position.
Marg

 

Considering the headaches you're having about what could go wrong, why don't you get it fixed?
It may be as simple as putting in a new beam support for your ceiling joists to hang from? If it's too hard to thread a new beam up through your manhole you may need to lift a roof sheet/tile? It may be as cheap as $500 if you get a hand from 'hire a hubby'?

 

You need a hanging beam running perpendicular to your joists. Goodluck getting an LVL through the manhole...

 

If you know it's a problem, you should fix it rather than looking for loopholes. It's the right thing to do.

 

Spend $5-10k to fix it and get a great sales price, or have people trying to haggle $50k off. I know which I would do.

 

Why are people not logical? Fix it, sleep well at night

 

I think that if you did not see any obvious damage in the timberwork above the bedrooms then unless you are a qualified person you can't be sure.

I take it there is no sagging in the bedroom ceiling? No obvious white ant infestation?

Yeah, nah, just keep quiet.

 

My thoughts exactly. I'd rather rest knowing the roof isn't going to collapse on whoever lives in it!

Cheers

Jamie

 

As long as it holds up long enough for the cheque to clear it's all good!

 

I would be concerned about it injuring a prospective buyer/inspector. They could definitely sue you if your property injures them while they are inspecting. Just fix it, even if it cost 10k, at least it would pass a building inspection

 

This opinion is the one that I can relate to the most. There is actually no obvious sign of sagging in the bedrooms. A pest inspector recently cleared the house termite free.

I didn't mention in the above narrative that its been rented out for 15 yrs and obviously no issues. Jamie's comment above is completely exaggerated. The old 'horse hair' plaster with the patterns in them are really solid and not going anywhere. I think its only an issue if someone goes walking above the rooms.

In retrospect I should have laid the beam across the timber work like I did 8 yrs ago in the lounge room. But as I said, the original ceilings have a lot of character and are quite attractive.

I think that I will ask my insurance company if Im covered by legal liability insurance if a builder does injure himself up there.

cheers all.

 

So the building is as originally constructed.

You think that there are improvements needed to support people on top of the ceiling - when people belong below the ceiling.

You don't know of any issue suggesting their is an issue with the ceiling in its function - it looks good!

What is the issue again?

 

The builder will be covered by their own insurance.

Clearly, the termite inspector had no problems - I.e. did not fall through etc, so it seems like you are worrying unnecessarily.

 

I disagree with this. (Though I'm interested in hearing if you have an experience where a home owner was sued in this situation).

The inspector will have insurance and there is no way they would expect the house owner to know about the quality of timbers in a roof.

In addition, the homer owner will be covered by their own insurance.

However, if the OP is actually competent to judge the quality of the roof structure and knows it is dangerous, then they should fix it.

 

Houses sell at auction all the time with issues in them. If you want to do the right thing then get it fixed but remember that once you've had professional advice, you're then going down the 'non-disclosure' avenue.

Also, keep it simple for the agent. If you don't want them to tell buyers about it then don't tell them about it. They are obligated to reveal that kind of info if they are aware of it. I actually ask questions via email to agents such as "are you aware of any structural issues in the property?". If they say "no" and you can prove that they did know, then you can hold them liable.