Are They Telling Everything They Know?

The seller’s disclosure form is meant to act as a type of buyer’s beware; however, how can you be sure you can rely on the disclosure to tell you everything you need to know about a property before you buy it? In all reality, you can totally rely on it. There are items which sellers simply may not know about and therefore can’t disclose. In other cases, the seller may know about and even though they are legally obligated to let you know about it before you buy the property, they act unethically and simply don’t disclose it. In still yet other situations, the seller may not be required by law to disclose the information.

The seller’s disclosure form varies widely from one state to the next and therefore the information that is required to be released in one state can be significantly different from what is required to be disclosed in another state. Sometimes this is because what is an issue in one geographic area simply isn’t a concern in another. For example, in Hawaii sellers are required to disclose information regarding volcanic activity near the home. Obviously this isn’t a concern in many other states, so it’s not required. In some cases; however, there could be issues which could affect any home in any given locale and that information may not be required for disclosure in the state in which you are purchasing property.

Sometimes home owners are only required to disclose information under certain situations. For example, it is quite common for homeowners not to be liable to disclosing information regarding lead based paint unless the home was built prior to 1978. In Florida, homeowners are only required to disclose information regarding a sinkhole unless there was an insurance claim regarding the sinkhole. No insurance claim, no liability to disclose it.

One way you can protect yourself is by ensuring you have a thorough inspection of the property performed before you buy it. This way, if the seller is trying to cover up something, pull a fast one or simply doesn’t know about a problem, you can find out about it before it becomes your problem.

In the event you discover after the fact there was a problem the homeowner failed to disclose which was required by state law you do have the option available to you to seek legal remedy; that is, provided you can prove the homeowner knew about it and blatantly failed to disclose it. Your best bet if that happens? Talk to the neighbors.

 
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