You’re putting your house on the market and the Realtor hands you a Sellers’ Property Disclosure to fill out. You’re thinking, “What a nuisance! Maybe I can skip over some of the questions.” Beware – this will come back to bite you! Withholding pertinent information about the property has serious consequences. A thorough Disclosure will protect you as well as the buyer. Most buyers appreciate knowing as much as possible about a property before buying it. They can live with it not being perfect, as long as they know the issues up front and have had a chance to investigate and digest them.

Properties can fail to close and lawsuits can happen when information is withheld. Not only should you disclose current issues with your house, but it also may be a good idea to disclose any past problems that have been repaired, or areas that require routine maintenance. A word of caution on past repairs – don’t guarantee that the problems are fixed. This implies that they will never come back. Rather, be specific on how they were taken care of. Also, don’t guess when filling out the disclosure; if you don’t know, then indicate that it is unknown. On the other hand, don’t just fill in “unknown” because it is easy and avoids problems. A thorough and properly filled out seller’s Disclosure may make buyers feel good about your house and also help keep you out of court!

[caption id="attachment_391" align="aligncenter" width="125" caption="Donna Forest, ABR"] [/caption]

Contact Donna at donna@donnaforest.com or visit her web site at www.donnaforest.com