Seller Disclosure
The seller disclosure is a statement made in good faith regarding the condition of the home he/she is trying to sell. There is a seller disclosure form – called “Form 17” - that is required by most states in the USA and, in it, the home seller must make it known to the home buyer any known structural defects like plumbing and electrical problems, and any history of problems with flood, sinkholes or other prior relevant damages to the property and its land.
Although deliberate misrepresentation within this statement can result in liability charges, the seller disclosure is not a substitute for a home inspection, nor warrants anything.
The contents of a seller disclosure can vary from state-to-state - sometimes from county to county! - but a typical form 17 contains information about:
- Structural, electrical and plumbing status of the house
- Title of the home and any ownership problems
- Hazards like lead paint, toxic mold, asbestos, radon etc.
- Water sources, rights and contamination
- Flood danger and previous flood damages
Most of these forms have questions for the home seller to reply to or boxes to check with “don’t know”, so it’s normal that one detail or another slips away. Plus, a lot of times you will deal with a home seller that has no “in-person” knowledge of the home. Like an investor who bought the house to flip it, so he/she doesn’t know what it “feels” like living in there and their seller disclosure might misrepresent some details of it. That’s why, like we’ve said, a home inspector is still needed to avoid nasty surprises down the road.
Real Estate Tips:
The home inspector is a must, but a good real estate agent will go through everything within the seller disclosure and will be able to point out other non-structural red flags for you too. And the place for good real estate agents is right here! Feel free to contact the one you like the most and good luck!
Popular Real Estate Terms
British thermal unit-a unit of energy associated with the creation of heat. Prior to 1929, it was defined as the amount of heat required to raised the temperature of 1 pound of water 1 ...
Method of construction where vertical siding is attached to a horizontal framing structure. Often found in the design of agricultural buildings. ...
The definition of a property brief is a document including the summarization of the attributes and characteristics of the property. Officially issued legal records are supposed to include ...
Study of real estate activities including demand, price, location influence, and current trends. ...
A method of brick construction where the bricks are laid with their sides facing outward. ...
A developer is a person that designs or creates something that could be a concept, structure, product or service. An idea can be turned into something real, tangible and the person that ...
Act of postponing a closing for another day or place. Adjournments of closing can occur for a variety of reasons including the lack of an appropriate closing statement, one or more parties ...
Market analysis method where sales of similar properties in proximity neighborhoods are compared. The comparable sales methodology is extremely useful if the properties being compared are ...
Property deed in which the grantor limits the title warranty to the grantee. A grantor does not warrant a title defect to the property occurring from a happening before the time of his ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.