Form 17 Selers disclosure when purchasing a home

With regard to form 17, such a document is required under statute to have been provided by the buyer to you unless you waived this right under the contract. A problem may arise, however, in that you closed on the contract apparently without demanding the form. Therefore, you may be deemed to have waived your right or the failure to provide the Form 17 to you may have "merged" into the deed.

Your real estate agent, who apparently served as a dual agent, should have advised you of your right to the Form 17. If he did not, he may have violated his obligations to you as a failure to comply with reasonable standards of care.

The seller is liable to you, irrespective of a Form 17, if he/she had "actual knowledge" of the problems with the sewer line, failed to disclose the same to you, and the problems with the sewer lines could not have discovered through a reasonable inspection. The agent may be liable if he/she had actual knowledge of the problem and failed to disclose the same to you, or otherwise breached his/her standard of care to you. The broker is vicariously liable to you for the acts of the agent.

You should go back and review your purchase and sales agreement to see if you waived the right to an inspection or the Form 17. If you have, you should try to remember if your agent discussed with you the meaning of these actions, or whether he/she instructed you to disregard them. You should also think back to whether or not the seller made any actual representations to you regarding the state of the house or the yard or the sewer.