Disclosure Issues
In both commercial and residential real estate sales, proper disclosure by the seller of defects in the property is essential. Many non-disclosure problems can be avoided by the usage of forms such as the Arizona Association of Realtors’ Seller Property Disclosure Statement (“SPDS”), developed for commercial, vacant land, and residential transactions.
If there is a wrongful failure by the seller to disclose a defect in of real property, the buyer may have a fraud claim which could warrant punitive damages. For fraudulent non-disclosures, e.g., inadequate roof repairs, the statute of limitations is generally three years.