Nondisclosure (Real Estate)

When a Buyer purchases Real Estate from a Seller, the Seller must disclose all known, material defects in the property. If the Seller fails to make sure a disclosure, the Buyer may have a claim for Nondisclosure.

A Nondisclosure claim has four elements:
 * 1) The seller of a home must have knowledge of a defect in the property,
 * 2) The defect must materially affect the value of the property,
 * 3) The defect must be not readily observable and must be unknown to the buyer, and
 * 4) The buyer must establish that the seller failed to disclose the defect to the buyer.

Johnson v. Davis, 480 So. 2d 625, 629 (Fla. 1985).

To state a claim, the Buyer must prove that the Seller had actual knowledge if the defect. It is insuffucient to state a claim if the Buyer can only establish that the Seller "should have known" about the defect. Jensen v. Bailey, Case No. 2D10-939 (Fla. 2d DCA Nov. 20, 2011).