Do I Disclose or Disclaim ? Liz Burrow , Realtor ®
Every year real estate contracts get longer and more complicated and the disclosures are generally the worst culprits . These are filled out by the seller to give the buyer as much information as possible about their home . There are really two purposes for this . For the buyer , it lets them know the condition of the property and exactly what is included with the home which helps to give them the conference to move forward with the purchase . For the seller , it is an opportunity to explain everything that they know about the condition of the home to protect them from future problems and ( dare I say it ) potential law suites .
There are many documents covering general information about Home- Owners Associations , the county , broker responsibilities , electronic signatures , etc ., but the document which holds the most information about the home itself is called the Disclosure / Disclaimer . There are 7 situations noted where the sellers are
26 LakeTalk August 2023 exempt from disclosing and if one of these applies , they should fill out the disclaimer . Otherwise , I strongly encourage my sellers to carefully , and in as much detail as possible , fill out the disclosures .
If they are left blank , the buyers have limited information about the home , so it makes it more difficult for them to make an informed decision about their possible purchase . It can also lead them to be concerned about whether there is something wrong with the house . Many agents believe that not filling out the disclosures gives their sellers less liability and while I am certainly not qualified to give legal advice , it stands to reason that if the sellers are aware of some defect and try to hide it by not disclosing it , they are just as responsible .
It is important to explain any defects , past or present by documenting what they were , when and where they occurred , and how they were resolved . Water problems and roof leaks are some of the most essential to remember . When a water incident is remediated people generally patch and paint , so that the area of the leak is no longer visible , however most inspectors can detect where patching has been done . They will also identify and report residual water stains in the attic . If there is a full explanation on the disclosures it helps to put buyer ’ s minds at ease .
Many deals have fallen through when items came to light during the inspections which were not disclosed , and buyers lost confidence in the integrity of the sellers , wondering what else could be wrong with the home that may be hidden .
It is always my advice to all sellers to disclose , disclose , disclose ! That way , the buyers are aware of everything before writing the offer and have little recourse later to come back and say that they were not given all the facts .