No home is perfect. Realizing this, buyers today are encouraged to have a home inspection done by a qualified professional prior to finalizingthe sale.

The inspector's role is to identify any structural problems that might affect the value of the home today or in future and, if any are identified, to give the buyer an estimate for repairs.

The buyer can then either accept the fault as is, renegotiate the than offer or revoke it altogether.

As the vendor, how much should you tell prospective buyers about defects - hidden or otherwise? Most experts agree that full disclosure is best.

Aside from casting doubt on your integrity, you could jeopardize the sale entirely if your buyer discovers latent defects during the inspection.

You could also face legal actions if the home is sold and it is later discovered that you knew about a particular defect.

To protect everyone's interests, many real estate boards now ask vendors to sign a statement itemizing improvements and identifying structural problems.