Ok, this post is really not about golf balls but they are part of the story. A recent case illustrates how courts are putting more obligations on buyers of residential property to understand the condition of the property notwithstanding the seller’s customary obligation to provide a disclosure form to the buyer.
This case involved a buyer who was purchasing a house on a golf course. I can already hear you thinking that anyone who buys a house on a golf course surely knows that one thing follows: errant golf balls. The seller did not consider errant golf balls being a problem and therefore did not disclose them in the property disclosure statement. Although they fell into the yard with some frequency during the summer, he did not remember that they caused damage to the house, his family or even their dog. When buyer first viewed the house, he noticed a ball in the street and even inquired as to “whether the balls fly here.
I saw a movie yesterday and in it a man said, “I hate golf, I don’t want to play golf, but I want to live in a house that backs up to a golf course some day”.
When I lived in Florida, I considered buying a house that backed up to a golf course. I used to go out in the morning to have my coffee on the back patio, sometimes with my hair tied up and a green mask on my face. As soon as I realized that five golfers would be waving at me from the 8th tee…I ditched the idea real fast!