Question

Property has been listed for sale and a buyer has made an offer. The seller disclosed to the buyer that the seller did not have a variance for the back patio, but there have been no problems or complaints from neighbors about it. At closing, the title company and lender accepted the existing survey which did not have the patio on it. After the closing the buyers received notice from the city requiring the removal of the patio. The buyers went to the title company with the notice. They mentioned that the sellers had told them about the patio and that it did not have a variance but stated it should still be covered by their policy. How will the title company most likely handle this claim?

Answer 1

Since the buyer has previous notice of the defect before the policy was issued, then the title company is not responsible for the defect or any action regarding the defect.

When the seller told the buyer about the issue with his back patio (it shouldn't be a patio), the buyer should have done something about it. Maybe the buyer should have gone to the city planning office and requested a change in the zoning permit.