PrepTest 101, Section 3, Question 8
Jones is selling a house to Smith.(70 more words not shown)
It can be properly concluded(5 more words not shown)
- AJones did not(20 more words not shown)
- Balthough other components(20 more words not shown)
- Cthe contract does(20 more words not shown)
- DSmith will be(23 more words not shown)
- Ein the past(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A cracked interior wall might be a problem for the buyer, but does this contract make it Jones's problem? Only defects in the roof or something supporting the roof fall within the repair obligation described here.
The final sentence lets us answer that question about walls. The exterior walls are the only walls supporting this roof. An interior wall therefore doesn't qualify as a roof-supporting component, and Jones isn't responsible for other repairs. I'd expect the conclusion that the contract doesn't require Jones to fix the interior walls.
Don't make the last sentence broader than it is. “The only walls that support the roof” doesn't mean “the only things that support the roof.” A beam or another component could also provide support. The passage excludes interior walls; it doesn't give a complete list of every roof-supporting part of the house.
What we’re looking for
For what can properly be concluded, stay with that narrow contractual result. We know which kinds of repairs Jones has promised for the first year. We haven't been told whether the house actually has defects, whether Jones knows about any, or who must handle every repair outside that promise.
Working the answers
- A
A repair obligation doesn't reveal what Jones knew when signing. Jones might have known about a problem, suspected one, or believed the house was in excellent condition. Any of those could coexist with this contract. There is no basis for choosing the particular state of knowledge A describes.
- B
A promise to fix defects isn't a statement that none exists now. A perfectly sound house and a defective house could both be sold with such a promise. The contract tells us who must repair covered defects if found, not the current condition of every covered component.
- CCorrect
Nonexterior walls are the interior walls. They don't support the roof, so defects in them fall outside the contract's defined category of major structural defects. Since Jones isn't responsible for any other repairs, the contract doesn't oblige Jones to repair those walls after the transfer. This follows the definition rather than assuming anything about whether the walls actually need work.
- D
If Jones isn't responsible, must Smith be? We haven't been given that rule. A builder might have a separate warranty, or a homeowners' association might have an obligation under some other arrangement. Those are possibilities, not extra facts about this house. They show why excluding Jones doesn't automatically assign every remaining repair to Smith.
- E
The exterior walls' role in supporting the roof doesn't tell us their repair history. Maybe they have never needed work. Nothing about past repairs follows from the promise to handle certain defects during the year after the sale.
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