Must Radon be Revealed Without an Inspection?

[hausdok]

In this Q & A column, a real estate pundit claims that a builder in Pennsylvania must disclose the presence of radon as a material defect, even when the buyer opts not to have a home inspection or radon testing done. Does that sound right to you?

To read the entire article, click here.

[Bill Kibbel]

The q&a columnist is as much of a dumb-ass as the folks asking the question. After "25 years of experience in real estate as a broker, analyst, consultant and expert witness in real estate litigation", he isn't qualified to give advice on legal matters and gets this one wrong. A smart expert witness answers questions that they are qualified to give answers to and defers legal questions to those that can call themselves lawyers.

He quotes an excerpt from the PA sellers disclosure act, but the only way these folks would "have a case" would be if they can prove that the builder had a qualified radon test performed, prior to closing.

[Terence McCann]

Radon levels could be high in one house and low in the house right next to it. That is why the EPA recommends testing every home.

As Bill said, the builder might be liable if he tested the home and then did not inform the buyers about high Radon levels. I wonder though, if a builder is building in area that is known to have high Radon concentration if he then has a responsibility to inform buyers of this. Then the buyers can choose to have a Radon mitigation system installed or not. I'm not sure a builder can say "I've never heard of Radon" like many homeowners can. Building a safe house is their responsibility.

[Bill Kibbel]

I wonder though, if a builder is building in area that is known to have high Radon concentration if he then has a responsibility to inform buyers of this. Then the buyers can choose to have a Radon mitigation system installed or not.

[ozofprev]

The owner/complainer chose not to have a home inspection. Later, they complain that there is an issue (Rn). The owner appears not to have been ignorant of the fact that Rn exists in the world. To my mind, they were every bit as guilty of ignoring Rn as the builder - which is fine since many don't care about Rn.

Now, the self-centered morons think Rn is a big deal and somebody else should take all the blame. You know - that EPA Rn map is as available to buyers as it is to builders!

Legally, the builder might have slipped up a bit when it built other structures with Rn monitors.

Is there a case? Sure, there's always a case. IMO, we have the very best legal system in the world, but it seriously sucks.

[Terence McCann]

I ask all my perspective clients if they would like a Radon test performed as well as the home inspection. I would say that approximately 70% ask "what's Radon? (topic for another discussion).

I guess my point is, as a specialist in a particular industry, shouldn't we/they know about these things and advise accordingly and are we liable if we don't?

WJ?

[ozofprev]

The title of the thread is,

Must Radon be Revealed Without an Inspection?

That places the burden on every builder. That's why my response was against the buyer who chose NOT to have an inspection, but later complained that something wasn't found.

If someone chooses to have no inspection, they should know what things might be missed and feel comfortable with the risk.

[vanamber]

Builders should take the initiative and put in static remediation systems, a couple hundred bucks when building. Then the buyer dcan test an dif there is need to remediate all they have to do is add a radon continoius fan to the stack.

Jack Lofstrom

Inspections Plus

Glenview, IL