Buyers are increasingly worried about environmental issues affecting the properties they buy
and this concern can turn into a sticky problem for real estate practitioners, especially if the
seller's failure to fully disclose turns into a lawsuit. In most states, sellers must disclose "red-flag
defects" including asbestos, radon, lead-based paint, toxic mold, and poor indoor air quality, as
well as such structural issues as foundation cracks, leaking windows, sagging floors, and
buckling walls. Getting clients to sign the disclosure papers is part of the job, but speaking to
buyers and others about what's in them is a big mistake, warns J.C. Melvin, a Las Vegas-based
real estate trainer and motivational speaker. "The smart [real estate professional] - at least one
who is not going to end up testifying in court - is the one who says: 'I don't know,' " says
Melvin.
Even if they don't discuss environmental problems, real estate practitioners should be
sufficiently well versed in them to know what buyers, sellers, and inspectors are talking about,
says Ron J. Passaro, president of Res-I-Tech home-inspection services in Bethel, Conn., and
founder and first president of the American Society of Home Inspectors. And practitioners
should insist that their clients understand the issues as well, says Marie Spodek, a real estate
consultant from David City, Neb. "Sometimes, buyers don't want to pay for tests for asbestos,
lead-based paint, and radon gas," she says. "[To protect ourselves], we have to push them up
against the wall and make them do it."
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Alan J. Heavens (01/13/08)
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