Quote:
Originally Posted by rtrav711
States like NY, Ct , Mass., etc ....had required them for anyone considering buying property in Florida due to the Johnson v. Davis, 480 So.2d 625, 629 (Fla. 1985) case that involved a piece of Florida property. This is just info I've picked up from various people. Perhaps if you contact the controlling department in an individual State they will be able to get you a copy or advise you of where to locate it. Possibly...someone reading this note can better direct you..
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The case your citing was for an individual property sale.
Florida “As Is” Real Estate Contracts and the Duty to Disclose in Residential Home Sales
Brice ZoeckleinAugust 12, 2017Blog2 Comments
A recurring source of litigation in Florida revolves around the rights of buyers and sellers operating under an “As Is” contract for sale of residential property.
A. The Seller’s Obligations to Disclose Under Florida Law
Despite the existence of contractual language excusing a seller of a property from representations (ie the “AS IS” language), Florida law provides a separate independent duty to disclose material facts that would substantially affect the value of a piece of property. Johnson v. Davis, 480 So.2d 625 (Fla. 1985). Importantly, the test for determining the materiality of a fact in a transaction of this nature is whether the fact “substantially affects the value of the property.” Dorton v. Jensen, 676 So.2d 437 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1996). That means that when a seller of a home knows of facts materially affecting the value of the property which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, the seller is under a duty to disclose them to the buyer. Johnson, 480 So. 2d at 629. The examples of such factors are endless but often include things like prior insurance claims, roof conditions, floods, construction defects, mold, termites, and septic/sewer system issues. Ultimately, the determination of whether the defect or issue if established is material would be question for the jury. A non-disclosure case requires the Plaintiff to establish the following 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.