Q:

If I shook hands with a prospective seller and signed a contract to purchase a house for a set price and prior to the closing the market conditions had reduced the market value of similar houses would we then be permitted to renegotiate the price or is it subject to mee sheporah? Thanks.

Rabbi Yehonoson Dovid Hool answered:

There are several issues here.

Firstly, Mee Sheporah is relevant only if money was paid for a sale but no other kinyan was effected. This is not the case in your circumstance.

The relevant question is whether the contract that you signed prevents you from reneging or not. It is unclear from your question what kind of contract was signed. If it was a deed of sale, usually neither side can back out unilaterally.

Sometimes, however, the parties sign a contract which is nothing more than a declaration of intent to conclude a sale. Whether either side can renege or renegotiate will depend on the text of this contract.

Even if no contract at all was signed but a definite commitment was agreed by both sides, the Halachah does not consider it acceptable to renege on such an agreement (unless unforseen circumstances arise) although one who does renege can not be forced to continue with the agreement. If the price changes significantly, there is a difference of opinion among the Poskim whether one may renege on the agreement, and their are opinions that permit it (although it is commendable to stick to your word).

However, one may always request that the seller bear in mind the drop in price and ask for a renegotiation of the price, but one cannot demand it.

Q:

Does a homeowner have a responsibility to the future homeowner all the defects of the home he/she is selling? Or is it the future homeowner’s responsibility to hire a home inspector?

Rabbi Yehonoson Dovid Hool answered:

It depends what type of defects are involved.

If there are defects that are not apparent to a purchaser, the seller is obliged to inform the purchaser. Anything that is readily apparent need not be detailed to the buyer as he is expected to notice this himself. (An extreme example – when selling a car to someone in the presence of the buyer, if the car has only three wheels it is not necessary for the seller to point this out!)

If after the sale the buyer discovers a defect that was present at the time of the sale (and was not immediately noticeable), and the buyer was unaware of this defect at the time of the sale, then he can renege on the purchase and ask for his money back, even if the seller was also unaware of the defect.

However, there are circumstances in which the seller is entitled to repair the defect, preventing the buyer from retracting from the sale. (In general, this is when the defect does not substantially detract from the essence of the item sold.) As always, actual circumstances should be referred to a Dayan or Beis Din.

by Rabbi Yehonoson Dovid Hool

Q:

My wife and I once sold really cheap what we thought were two prints, 1) a Chagal, and 2) a Salvador Dali. My mother-in-law, who gave them to us, just informed us that the Salvador Dali was in fact a signed lithograph and is worth between $2000-$2500.

Do we have any recourse to try to get it back from the people who bought it from us (assuming that we can locate them)?

Answer:

Indeed you do. If it can be proved that you unknowingly undersold for at least a sixth of the price you can invalidate the sale retroactively, returning the money and receiving the print in return.

Although there is a time-limit for claiming Ona’ah, this applies only to the buyer, who has the opportunity to show it to others and discover the real price, and if he does not return within the designated time he forfeits his right to claim Ona’ah. However, the seller, who no longer has the item in his possession, may claim Ona’ah even much later, when he discovers that he has undercharged for the item