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
When you hear a real estate agent talking about a client that's an empty nester, it means said client suffers from empty nest syndrome. But what is Empty nest syndrome? Empty nest ...
We call a concept ostensible when, at first sight, it appears to be accurate or valid. However, upon closer inspection, it proves to be a half-truth or completely false. For instance, Dale ...
Those parts of a condominium that are owned by all the unit owners. ...
Money earned or accrued during an accounting period that results in the increase in total assets. Items such as rental income. Revenues arising from the sales of real estate. The ...
To transfer a property title by deed or other instrument to another party. ...
A real estate contract whose terms have been completely satisfied. ...
Relationship between individuals or entities out of which exists a mutual interest. An example is a privity of contract among the contracting parties concerning the actions each are to take. ...
Excess of money or fair value of property received on sale or exchange over the carrying value of the property. An example is the sale of a building when the cash received exceeda its ...
Having a traditional salt box architecture with clapboard siding, the New England Colonial was enlarged for additional family members by adding extensions, often at the rear of the home. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.