Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Profiting from withholding information

Rate this topic


T-1000

Recommended Posts

Hi, this is my first post.

Say I am about to sell a house which has a major defect. I deliberately fail to mention the defect to potential buyers in order to maximise the selling price. If a buyer knew about the defect then they would definitely not buy it. I successfully sell the house and make a modest profit. The new owner discovers the defect immediately. Because of the nature of the defect they must sell immediately, and they too are now forced to not mention the defect to potential buyers in order to get rid of the house.

I feel guilty for having made a profit from the house sale, and for potentially ruining the buyer's life if they cannot find a new buyer. Even if the new buyer finds another buyer, eventually someone in the chain will not find a buyer as word gets out about the defect. Am I right to feel guilty? Does the answer to this change depending on whether I caused the defect?

(This situation is happening in my life right now, but I have changed the details [its not a house sale]. For the sake of this example lets assume the defect is a non life threatening defect, but one that forces anyone to sell as soon as they know about it. [eg lets say the house has a really bad smell because of where it was built that can't be gotten rid of except for 30 mins at a time while people are viewing the property.])

I understand that its buyer beware, and that any buyer should thoroughly do their research, yet I still feel guilty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The situation you describe would be considered fraud. Staying with the details of your hypothetical situation, you are presenting the house as one that does not have a persistent bad smell - by getting rid of the smell temporarily - when you know it has the problem. Whether you caused the defect doesn't change the situation. All that matters is that you know about it, you know it's relevant to the buyer, and you failed to mention it.

This doesn't mean that you have to list every single downside of anything you sell. For instance, used cars usually need some kind of repair; that is why it is recommended to have a mechanic check out a used car before you buy it. But, actively hiding the problem for the purposes of sale is unethical.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Say I am about to sell a house which has a major defect. I deliberately fail to mention the defect to potential buyers in order to maximise the selling price. If a buyer knew about the defect then they would definitely not buy it. I successfully sell the house and make a modest profit.... I feel guilty for having made a profit from the house sale, and for potentially ruining the buyer's life if they cannot find a new buyer. Even if the new buyer finds another buyer, eventually someone in the chain will not find a buyer as word gets out about the defect. Am I right to feel guilty? Does the answer to this change depending on whether I caused the defect?

Yes, you should feel guilty, and furthermore you should attempt to rectify the harm that you've caused. Concealing a fact which you know would be material to their decision to buy the house is fraud. It does not matter whether you caused the defect or not; the salient point is, it exists, and you are concealing it to deceive the buyer. Dealing with people through deceit and trickery, as expendable tools rather than independent valuers, is horrendously bad for both you and those around you. It is good that you at least feel guilty about it; this indicates that your character is at least partially based on the idea that you should not exploit others. That's the kind of moral character that will serve you well in the long term; don't ignore it, and don't cheat on it. Don't be satisfied with going through life with a guilty conscience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is the sale worth tarnishing your name over and potentially burning bridges with people who you might want to transact with in the future?

It's not just about the external reputation consequences of this particular act. Someone in this situation should be more concerned about his reputation with himself (his self-respect) than his reputation with others who saw him do it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...