Are you about to put your house on the market and you're trying really hard to
make that place as perfect as possible? Of course you are! But, just because you
are working hard to put your house's best foot forward does not mean that you
should get a massive case of "disclosaphobia" when it comes time to fill out
your sellers property disclosure.
Hey there, Emily Farber at Lepic-Kroeger, Realtors® in Iowa City, Iowa. I'm a Realtor®
serving the greater Iowa City area. The topic of today's video is: What should
sellers disclose on their sellers property disclosure to buyers? A sellers
property disclosure is a required document in most residential real estate
sales. The purpose of the sellers property disclosure is that you, the
seller, are informing the buyer of all potential issues that you have had, or
may currently have with your house. Now, I know when you're selling your house you
want it to seem as sparkly and perfect as possible, and you feel like you're
protecting yourself and promoting your interests in wanting to present your
house that way. But it's important to understand that the most dangerous
information is information that is unknown. So, even though you don't want to
talk about that leak you had in your roof, it is better for you to be honest
about it, disclose it up front and what you did to
fix it, and then move forward. After all, the unknown that pops up later is always
a bigger problem than a known issue that was disclosed up front. The purpose of
the sellers property disclosure is to bring to light any latent defects that
may be a part of your house. A latent what? A latent defect. A latent defect is
an issue with the house that may not be readily apparent to the eye. So, if I'm
walking through your front door and I see a big hole in the drywall next to
your kitchen that's not a latent defect. It's obvious to the beholder. A latent
defect is something that is hidden, that there is not a reasonable expectation
that the buyer, the buyer's agent, or the buyer's inspector might find it. Hidden
things like past water damage, foundational issues, electrical problems,
a a house flood that happened and then was
cleaned up, or a house fire that happened a few years ago and has since been
repaired. Those are examples of latent defects and those are things that you
need to be very upfront with on your sellers property disclosure. More
information is always better than less information, missing information, or
inaccurate... lies. Don't do it! There's been cases where I have toured property and
the sellers property disclosure is obviously inaccurate. For instance, I've
been in houses where they say, "Oh no, we've neeeever had any problems with water
in the basement." Yet while I'm there I can see water actively trickling in! That
does not make me feel confident about the overall condition of the house and
it doesn't make me feel confident about the seller. When you hide things or lie
about things you are only raising more red flags and more problems for yourself,
as a seller. Don't do it. Be honest, be open, and
disclose. When in doubt disclose, disclose, disclose some more! It's always better to
over disclose, and you may think, "Oh my gosh! Nobody's ever gonna want to buy my
house if they find out about all this random little nitty-gritty stuff about
it!" That is not true. It is always better for the buyer to walk in eyes wide open
and be fully aware of what they are writing an offer on rather than have a
whole bunch of issues show up post inspection or post closing. That is where
you run into a lot of trouble. The sellers property disclosure really
protects not only the buyer, in giving them a fuller understanding of the
property that they are writing an offer on, it also protects you as the seller.
And how is that, you think? I know it seems a little bit backwards but it's
true! Once an offer is written, and the buyer initials and signs off on that
sellers property disclosure, that means that they acknowledge that they are
aware of all of those issues and they are not going to come back and hold you
responsible for them later. Just because you put something on the sellers
property disclosure does not necessarily mean that you have to fix it.
Sellers property disclosures vary from state to state, county to county, and they
even vary from city to city. Here in the greater Iowa City area we have a
sellers property disclosure that is pretty sparse. Our disclosure is only two
pages long. It covers major components of the house.
However just 30 minutes to the north, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, their sellers
disclosure is six pages long! This thing seems so crazy long to me. It's not the
one that I use most of the time, but it is much more detailed than the Iowa City
area sellers property disclosure. Now, each MLS has their own theories on
why they use what they use, and why they think their version is better, but just
be aware that a sellers property disclosure that you may have been
familiar with in another area is not necessarily going to be the same
sellers property disclosure that you're working with when you go to a new area.
There's one disclosure that is universally required across the board no
matter where you are. And that is the lead based paint disclosure.
It is a national requirement. If your house was built prior to January 1st
1978 you must include a lead-based paint disclosure with your property. In the
Iowa City area, the sellers property disclosure asks you
questions about: basement and foundation, roof, well and pumps, septic tanks or
drain fields, the sewer system, the heating system, the central cooling
system, the plumbing system, the electrical system, any pest infestations,
asbestos, radon, lead-based paint, flood plain, zoning, covenants, shared or
co-owned features of the property, physical problems of the property, or
structural damage. Hey, I hope this video about sellers property disclosures has
been helpful. Remember, the sellers property disclosure
doesn't only protect the buyer, it really protects you as the seller. So, when in
doubt, always disclose. Hey, as always, thanks for watching. Don't forget to
subscribe, and if you hit that bell icon down below (this is my pro tip of the day)
you'll be notified every time I put out a new video, which is every Friday. I hope
you have a great day, and I'll catch you next time!