Thousands of homes are bought and sold in New York State each year and every one of those transactions shares the overriding principle of caveat emptor- “let the buyer beware.”
The purchaser is charged with the responsibility of exercising due diligence to know what is being purchased. A seller’s disclosure obligation is very limited. Absent active concealment or an affirmative misrepresentation by the seller, a purchaser has little or no recourse against a seller for defects later found to affect the property. Glazer v. LoPreste, 717 N.Y.S.2d 256 (2d Dep’t 2000); London v. Courduff, 529 N.Y.S.2d 874 (2d Dep’t 1988).
