then you would have recourse against the owner. Right?

I think that will depend on state law although probably a general answer
would be "yes" if the purchaser can prove willful failure to disclose
(in an environment where there were not a legal disclosure
rule)....whether anybody state is that far behind the curve I don't
know--even TN had a fairly comprehensive list when I left there a few
years ago...

Proving that a home owner knew something & did not disclose it would be
pretty impossible unless the guys is a moron & ran his mouth all over town
or got a bunch of estimates