There can be hoa debts, code violations, or any manner of other "title defect" and it doesn't really matter to the process........if a third party buys it at auction, they inherit all that joy.  

Installation of non-compliant material is considered defective material. 

If they have color of title (a deed that turned out to be defective, a will that left them property it turned out the testator didn't actually own, etc) or if it is a simple boundary line issue, you can adversely possess a property in only 10 years.  

I feel that if they failed to notify you of the defective window and you had no way to know it was defective or if they just failed to close it properly then it is their fault and they should file an insurance claim or pay for it themselves.

With agency involved, there are certainly more required disclosures but CA has its own disclosure laws regarding real estate and FSBO or not, sellers must disclose any known defects, adverse affects to title, adverse affects to the value (such as death on property), etc.

We look for projects that require aggressive but manageable structural defects, systems issues, etc - and the projects with thousands of hours of crappy work are the ones that will always be ready for someone ready to get into it.

At that point I'd either eat my EMD and chalk it up as a paid education and/or pray for a title defect that can't be cured anytime soon...

They did a great job tackling & repairing the defective basement wall, leveled the kitchen flooring with jacks & built a 20x20 Florida room & then did a 'husband & wife' new roof.

The expensive guy, you will be hard pressed to find a defect even if you tried.If it's too good to be true...

@Troy Rasmussen Given the property is in Syracuse and they are letting it go for $68k you can rest assured there are a plethora of deferred maintenance and probably outright defects with the property.