“I am really disappointed and quite frankly a little angry. My husband and I went to go look at 27 Snipsic Lake Road in Ellington, CT. We were going to make an offer, but thankfully my husband did some digging and found out the house has a foundation issue. I think it is sneaky and probably illegal not to disclose that information to potential buyers.”
This is a message recently submitted through our website to the listing agent regarding a listing we have with a DISCLOSED foundation issue. What the consumer doesn’t mention is that she saw the property with an agent. Apparently, an agent who failed to do their job. The buyer’s agent is responsible for obtaining and sharing the property disclosures available through the SmartMLS Multiple Listing Service with their buyer client.
On the above-mentioned property, there were 3 disclosures available, all confirming the “foundation issue” including a report from a structural engineer and the disclosure of the seller’s status as a pending claimant with Crumbling Foundations Solution Indemnity Corporation (CFSIC).
Buyers, the current State of Connecticut Residential Property Condition Report disclosure, is available to all agents on any residential property in CT (with the exception of estate properties) and includes the following questions that address crumbling foundations specifically: Section H, questions 36,39,40 & 41. You should also review the Concrete Advisory and Disclosure for Sellers and Buyers where the seller acknowledges not only that testing has confirmed the presence of Pyrrhotite but also confirms whether or not they have an active or pending claim registered with CFSIC. 
There was nothing "sneaky" or ‘illegal” in the marketing of this property or any we have listed and sold with confirmed or suspected foundation issues.
The listing agent for any property has a fiduciary responsibility to their client, the seller, to obtain the most favorable price and terms for the property.
We meet our legal and ethical responsibility to our client and the buying public by providing the disclosures as required by law and the inspection reports provided by the seller in the SmartMLS which all buyer's agents have access to.
We expect that the buyer's agent and the buyer will do their due diligence in fully vetting any property within the 42 towns potentially affected and built between 1983-2017. I know that reading is now a bit of a lost art, but disclosures are required reading in a real estate purchase. We can only put the information out there for consumption, we can't make anyone consume.
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