Undisclosed Death

Dear Phyllis,
My daughter and her husband
purchased a home in Azusa six months
ago. The house was sold via probate and
was a fi xer, but my son-in-law is very
handy. So that was not a problem. After
just a month upon moving in a neighbor
told them that the home was a rental
and that the previous occupants were
druggies and one died of an overdose. It is
my understanding that the death should
have been disclosed, but it wasn’t.

What do you suggest my daughter do about the
undisclosed death?

Janey

Dear Janey,
I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s
situation.

In California, sellers must disclose any
death on the property within the last three
years. First, your daughter should confirm
the timeline. Your daughter will need a police
report or coroner’s record to pin down when
and if the overdose happened. Even though a
probate sale, the law was broken if the death
was within three years of her purchase and if
the estate knew and it wasn’t disclosed.

California law only requires sellers to
disclose what they know. If the estate didn’t
know about the death or it was beyond the
three-year window, it might not have been
legally obligated to mention it. But if it did
know and hid it, that’s where things get
murky.

Begin by talking to the real estate agent
who handled the sale. Agents must disclose
material facts they’re aware of, too. Ask if
they knew about the death. You might want
to consult a real estate
attorney. If there’s a case, your daughter
could sue for misrepresentation or fraud.
Remedies might include damages (a drop
in property value) or, possibly, reversing the
sale. But she’d need solid proof the death was
recent, material and known to the seller or
agent.

Best of luck to your daughter and her
husband.

Phyllis