Elena and David enter into a written purchase agreement for a residential property in Fairfax County. The contract states that the sale is contingent upon Elena obtaining financing, but it also contains a clause requiring Elena to waive her right to a home inspection as a condition of the seller's acceptance. Three weeks later, Elena's lender approves her loan, but Elena discovers through her own informal walk-through that the roof has significant undisclosed damage. Elena wants to rescind the contract. Under Virginia law, which of the following statements most accurately describes Elena's legal position?
Correct Answer
D) Elena may not rescind based on the roof condition alone, because Virginia law permits sellers to provide a disclaimer statement shifting discovery responsibility to the buyer, and the inspection waiver clause reinforces this allocation of risk.
Virginia's Residential Property Disclosure Act (Va. Code § 55.1-700 et seq.) uniquely permits sellers to provide a disclaimer statement rather than a full disclosure, which shifts the burden of discovering property defects to the buyer. When a seller provides a disclaimer, the buyer takes the property essentially 'as-is' with respect to the seller's knowledge of defects, and the buyer is responsible for conducting their own due diligence. In this scenario, Elena contractually waived her right to a formal inspection, further reinforcing the allocation of risk to her. Without evidence of active fraud or intentional concealment — which rises above mere non-disclosure under a disclaimer — Elena has a weak basis for rescission based solely on the roof condition. The contract remains valid and enforceable as written.
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Related Topics & Key Terms
Key Terms:
Related Concepts
Contingencies are conditions written into a real estate contract that must be met before the transaction can close. If a contingency is not satisfied, the buyer can typically cancel the contract without penalty.
Contract termination occurs when a contract is ended or discharged, releasing both parties from their obligations. A contract can be terminated through performance, mutual agreement, operation of law, or breach.
A counteroffer is a response to an original offer that changes one or more terms of the offer, effectively rejecting the original offer and creating a new offer. The party who makes the counteroffer becomes the new offeror.
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