A man knew he had a malfunctioning gas heater, and even though a repairman warned him that the heater could start a fire, he sold the property without informing the buyers. Soon after the buyers moved in, the heater exploded and killed two family members. The court determined that the seller was criminally liable, convicted him of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced him to 15 years in jail. This is an extreme example, though it really happened. There are many gray areas regarding the disclosure of these sort of liabilities.
Serious defects can lead to extensive and expensive property damage, personal injury, or even death.
Because of this, you must insist that the sellers and their agents provide a complete list of the property's defects, large or small. In a letter to a Boston Globe columnist, a seller asked how much information he had to disclose to the buyer. The seller knew the property had defects, some minor, some more serious. He evidently wanted to hide as much information as he could. The columnist responded by saying that the seller should not tell the real estate agent about the defects, because the agent would be obligated to inform the buyer and that the owner should not make any explicitly false statements that would intentionally mislead the prospective buyer.