When purchasing a home, the purchaser should be aware that the
doctrine of "Caveat Emptor" or "let the buyer
beware" generally applies to the sale of a property. The
purchaser has an obligation to inspect the property and to make
inquiries to the vendor prior to the purchase and cannot complain
afterwards about defects that could have been discovered.
After the sale, the purchaser must accept all defects which
could have been discovered by a routine inspection. These are
called patent defects. For this reason, it is wise, if not
imperative, for a purchaser to have a house inspection as condition
of purchasing a property and make inquiries of the vendor of
possible defects.
Although the general rule is caveat emptor for patent defects, a
vendor may be found liable for a patent defect if he or she is
found to have taken steps to conceal the patent defect from the
purchaser or taken steps to mislead the purchaser from making
further inquiries. However, if the defect
