Legal Hotline
By Chris Darby, Tom Muldoon and John Nalls of Counselors Title, LLC, and Pardo & Drazin, LLC, General Counsel
QUESTION: I have a listing in Northwest
District of Columbia, where the sellers are the trustees of the deceased owner, who held the property in a living trust. Since trustee sales are exempt from having to complete the Seller Disclosure Statement, the seller/ trustees did not complete one. However, a prospective buyer discovered a structural issue with the home and made us aware (with a written report). The sellers also got a second opinion and have that written report, which confirmed the issue. Can you confirm that the sellers are still required to disclose this in writing (via report or otherwise) to any prospective buyers?
ANSWER: While the sellers may be
exempt from filling out the property condition disclosure statement, they are still required to disclose ALL known material defects to any prospective buyer (this obligation always exists).
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CAPITAL AREA REALTOR ® — May/June 2021
QUESTION: If there were five tenants in a
single-family house and they gave notice and left of their own accord this weekend, do they still have tenant rights (through the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act - TOPA)? The original lease was signed prior to March 31, 2018 BUT three new tenants moved in June 1, 2018, and a new lease was signed by all parties around May 21, 2018.
ANSWER: Provided the tenants left of
their own volition prior to the property being listed (and there was no remaining term in the lease), and the seller didn’t otherwise evidence an intent to sell the property while the tenants occupied the property, there should be no continuing right of the tenants to receive TOPA notices/rights. That being said, it is always a good idea to run TOPA questions by your favorite settlement company so that they can get underwriter approval (to verify TOPA compliance).
