Buyer Beware

The old law while purchasing real estate was caveat emptor (Buyer beware). The buyer was responsible for inspecting the property and discovering all possible defects on it. However, recently, the law has been changing rapidly, especially when it comes to the residential real estate. In Pennsylvania, seller is now obligated to provide the buyer with the Sellers Disclosure, where the seller is obligated to disclose all known defects to the property. Seller is liable for failing to disclose known defects. The big distinction is between known visible (patent) defects and invisible (latent) defects. Clearly, Buyer is responsible for discovering all the visible defects.
Buyer Defense attorneys think that buyer waived all the rights to sue if he did not hire an inspector. That is not true. There are certain places where inspectors wouldn't go anyway, and that's where the latent defects are.