Question:
“My brother is buying a home in L.A. He’s a month into it and is supposed to close in March. Their agent just walked through the house and disclosed to him some issues he found. I don’t know what they are, but my brother is pretty freaked out and wants to cancel. Since this was just disclosed, can they cancel?”
Answer:
If their contract terms are typical and they’ve released their inspection contingency, they can’t.
That’s because you can’t cancel based on a disclosure from YOUR agent after you’ve released the inspection contingency.
If this late disclosure was from the seller or their agent, then yes. But not if it’s from his own agent. (Think about it… if he could cancel, then any homebuyer could back out at any time without penalty by having their agent disclose something to them.)
Let me add that if their agent did their legally required “Agent’s Visual Inspection” so late—a month into the transaction—that agent may have liability.
However, if they did that inspection early on (as they should) and the agent discovered these defects on a later visit, then the agent did nothing wrong.
Since this is ultimately a legal question, I have to advise that your brother consult with a real estate attorney.
