For many years the phrase “buyer beware” characterized a homeowner’s relative lack of power against the builder of a defective home. Deemed to have an affirmative duty to inspect the property prior to execution of the purchase contract, home buyers who failed to do so were denied recovery and their only recourse was to establish fraud by the seller, who conversely had no duty to disclose defects. Moreover,
upon the closing of the sale, any warranties and representations made by the builder concerning the home were deemed to expire with the issuance of the deed, thus eliminating the chance that the homeowner could successfully maintain a lawsuit against the builder for breach of contract or warranty. The power shifted in 1964 when Colorado led the nation in imposing upon the builder of every new home an implied warranty that the home had been built in accordance with applicable building codes, in a workmanlike manner and that the home was suitable for habitation. The “buyer beware” doctrine further eroded as Colorado courts imposed an affirmative duty to disclose know latent defects and further recognized that the purchase contract gives rise to a duty to perform the work with reasonable care and skill, thus giving rise
to claim for negligence when the builder fails to do so. Other claims premised upon breach of express warranty, or in some instances, breach of fiduciary duty may also be available to the homeowner of a defective home.

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