The Insider's Guide To Selling Your Home By Owner- Rocio Fausto I | Page 109

Now, he had done a little bit of work on the truck and fixed
a few things. But, all in all, it wasn’t a bargain of any sort.
This same strategy works for selling a home. Most buyers
are not stupid. They know if they buy an older home, it is going to
have some problems.
The more forthcoming you are about the potential problems,
then the more relaxed they will become about buying your house.
Ok, let’s keep going.

If you see something, say something
One thing you should know is that in most states you don’t
have to worry about discussing issues that you have no
knowledge of. Don’t run out and hire an inspector to nit-pick
every little detail of your home with the intention of finding
problems that may not even affect the property value.
The problems you have to report are the ones that you
know about. Leaky pipes, rotting wood, basement flooding, and
basically anything about your property that has bothered you and
you know that it will bother the new residents.
However, you can’t be cavalier about the unknown issues.
There are certain scenarios where turning a blind eye could get
you in some real hot water. Depending on what state you are
selling you house in, you may be held responsible for not
discovering any unknown potential problems.
It’s very important to educate yourself about the specific
disclosures that your state requires. Some states are very strict
while others are more lenient. To get a decent idea of what you
may be up against, let’s take a look at all the regulations in
California, one of the most stringent disclosure report states in the
nation.
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