*Please note: Any questions regarding Legal Hotline Spotlights should be submitted via the Virginia REALTORS^® Legal Hotline. Our attorneys are unable to respond to questions through our comments section.

Q: “We had a listing where the buyers terminated after doing a home inspection. Those buyers will not permit us to use their home inspection report to disclose the material defects when we relist the property. How should we handle this?”

A: It’s important to draw a distinction between the defects found in the report and the report itself. When you received the report, you were put on notice that there are certain material defects in the property, and because you are aware of them you—as a licensee—now have to disclose to prospective buyers. However, the actual report is a copyrighted piece of work. The only people who have a right to use that report (in most instances) are the inspection company who prepared the report and the buyers. If you want to use the actual report, you need permission from either the buyers or the inspector, depending on the specifics in the agreement between the buyer and the inspector.  

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