Asked and Answered
The seller has indicated that there was a leak in the bathroom from the apartment above that has been repaired in all respects? Can I rely on seller’s representation to that effect in the contact?Not completely. Whenever you are on notice of a prior repair issue with any aspect of the heating, plumbing or other systems in the apartment, make sure that the seller's version or broker’s version about the condition and the subsequent repair or remedy is accurate to the greatest extent possible. The managing agent and resident manager should be queried to insure that the issue has, in fact, been resolved. Sometimes an aging building’s plumbing infrastructure is about as water tight as a leaky hot tub. If a building has chronic leak conditions due to aging plumbing or a façade in need of major repair, the repair of a leak doesn’t necessarily insure that the leak won’t occur again unless the actual cause of the problem is addressed. Once the buyer is on notice about a troublesome condition in the apartment, the burden is on the buyer to obtain as much knowledge about the condition as possible before the contract is signed.