Should you rely on the Seller's Disclosure when purchasing your Crofton, MD home?

Yes, of course rely on it, BUT only as part of an overall plan. As you know, sellers are required to provide a Disclosure, or a Disclaimer, as part of the Contract of Sale for residential property in Maryland. Many sellers do disclose, which basically means they fill out a series of yes and no questions about the operation of systems in the house. The forms are standard and mandated by the State. There are exceptions from filling out the forms for estates and banks who never lived in the property.

It’s important to remember that sellers are answering questions based on whether they’re aware of any issues. Houses are big, and there could absolutely be issues going on that they aren’t aware of. Let me give you an example. I live in a decent size house and I’m probably only using about one quarter of the electrical outlets, maybe less. Am I aware of any issues with the other outlets? No…but then again, I’m not using them either.

Do not rely on property disclosures as the sole source of information about the property. An objective home inspection, by a licensed Maryland home inspector is the way to go. After all, this is one of the biggest financial transactions you’re going to undertake for a while. While home inspections aren’t perfect, they are surely better than Seller’s Disclosures. They’re even a far sight better than Uncle Harry walking through because he “knows a lot about houses.” I have no problem recommending qualified home inspectors who I have worked with over the years.

If you’re planning on buying the house…get an objective assessment of the condition via a home inspection. And while sellers aren’t “required” to make changes, it certainly is a great negotiation tool if they want their house to go to settlement.

If you’re not working with an agent to buy your home in Crofton, MD, I can help. Rich Iarossi, 443-995-9595.