The Basic Rules of Seller Disclosure

The Basic Rules of Seller Disclosure


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Seller DisclosureA tricky part of selling your home can be the seller disclosure.  If your house is on the market, it might feel counterintuitive to point out all of its problems, no matter how small.  But it is important to be upfront and honest.  Hiding information could get you in deep legal trouble.

While disclosure laws can vary by area, there are some basic rules to follow regarding the seller disclosure.  If you have any specific questions be sure to ask your real estate professional or attorney.

If there is any doubt, disclose.

The general rule is a seller should make known any facts about the condition of the property.  Whether it is dangerous materials, pending lawsuits, etc. everything should be put in the disclosure that might influence a buyer’s decision.

Because it is hard to know exactly what might influence a buyer’s decision, it is best to disclose everything.  Even issues that have been repaired in the past should be disclosed.  This will help you avoid a potential lawsuit down the line.

Most disclosures are not going to stop or derail a sale.  It is just important that you are upfront about all potential problems.

Disclose inspection reports

While you don’t have to disclose past inspection reports, doing so can save you a lot of trouble.  Avoid a potential lengthy legal battle and just provide the past inspection reports to be clear with your buyer.  That way, if a problem comes up in the future, the buyer can’t say they were unaware of the issue.

You can’t disclose what you don’t know

Despite all of this talk of legal action being a little unsettling, there’s one thing you don’t have to worry about: you can’t disclose what you don’t know.  So in the courts, you cannot be held accountable for not disclosing an issue you didn’t know about.

For example, your house has mold behind a wall.  But you have never seen the mold and an inspector missed the mold, too.  You cannot be held responsible if the buyer discovers this a few months after closing.  At a certain point it becomes the buyer’s responsibility to do their due diligence.

Don’t guess

Potential buyers come with a lot of questions.  Sometimes you might not know the answers or maybe you never even thought about issues they are asking about.  If you don’t know the answer to the question, do not just take a wild guess.  

An instance where this can come up is the measurements of the home.  Three different appraisers could come up with three different sets of measurements for your home.  Don’t take a guess or estimate yourself because then it can come back to haunt you.  It could look like you were deceiving or misleading potential buyers.

You can always add a clause to say your square footage is an approximate number and site how you came up with that number.  If buyer’s want additional information about it, it is up to them to look in to the matter.  

When selling a home, keep in mind that there is no such thing as over sharing on the seller disclosure.  Give as much information as possible.

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