What Are "Known Defects?"

so NO shortcomings, imperfections or lack....bwa ha ha right.  Can you just say see disclosures? or maybe "tons of crap...come see for yourself." 

If you find out it is on a nuclear waste sight, can you then get in trouble for your initial "no known deficits" (never mind glow in the dark roof)

I like this interesting question about what is a known defect ... and also what information about a defect should be published at the MLS.

CA real estate disclosure law is that sellers and their agents must provide all information to buyers about the property that would materially impact the decision of the buyers to buy the home and property.

However, CA law does not require such disclosures at the MLS publication.

In GA MLS there is not a field for "known" defects....though I highly doubt most agents in this area would put anything in there to begin with(they dont even fill in most of the required fields correctly LOL) however I do understand what you are saying. I just went through a situation where the appraiser informed me that the previous appraisal on the house( on a contract that fell thru), which by chance he had completed for another mortgage company) had already written up the roof and it did not appraise for the listed price was known to the listing agent. This was never disclosed in the Seller Disclosure and the disclosure stated there were not any issues with the roof during the Seller's ownership. When the roofing contractor went out to the house to inspect he showed pictures of recent caulking that was done on the roof where it was leaking. In order for the loan for my client to proceed the roof had to be replaced. This happens time and time again where the listing agent is made aware of defects during a home inspection or appraisal and it is never disclosed.  Especially with REO homes when the contracts dont go thru from defects discovered during a home inpection and they never tell future agents about the issues....just rely on the fact that the house is sold "as is" from the bank.  Am I not correct to expect that as agents and REALTORS we are obligated to disclose these facts whether the bank does or not .....Frustrating that we do not take our job and ethics more serious....Even when I listed bank properties I made sure to take pictures of what was wrong with the house so that the agents could truly see before they wasted their time with a client that was FHA or VA....

We do not have this comment in our California MLS. Personally, I don't understand WHY this is would be in a MLS Field. In our area, DEFECTS of any nature are noted at the time the inspector does the inspection, and at the time both agents do a VISUAL PROPERTY INSPECTION. Because a property may be on the market longer than six months, we do not have the seller complete and date all their DISCLOSURES until we have an accepted offer. The seller then has (usually 5 days) to prepare and send all their disclosures to the buyer. A defect could actually be a very small paint chip on a door jam, or anything major that is quite obvious, like a missing closet door. The defect is in the "eye" of the beholder!" LOL

We don't have that section on our TN MLS. But you are right that all houses have defects. A recent buyer of a new home from a reputable builder is getting 'defects' fixed one by one, so even on new homes there are defects. For instance,  the garage door opener had a 'ghost' so that sometimes it closes and sometimes not. The brand new HVAC unit had a part go bad almost immediately. The seller should be as truthful as possible on the property disclosure form. Better too much info than too little.

There is not a 'Defects' in our local listing service. In Virginia we do have a 'Property Disclosure' which contain a blank area where sellers can list defects however it is nearly always left blank. Trying to detemine which 'known defects' are significant enough t add to a list is far to arbitrary.

Is chipped pain on a baseboard a defect?

Yes. Is it worthy of listing? No. But not every purchaser (or overly ambitious attorney) might agree.

A defect? Not in my eyes!

I consulted with a couple in their 80's recently who were considering selling their home of almost 60 years. As they showed me their home, I asked about the moisture in one corner of the basement. The owner said, yes, we used to have a lot of water come in and it would flood the basement when there was a very strong rain. He then explained how, about 25 years ago, he had gerry rigged a solution so that now there was only some occaisional moisture.

Is there a defect? Not in his eyes! He fixed the problem to his satisfaction.

How do you argue with that thinking?

Don't hsve a known defects in our MLS listing. I do attach the sellers disclosure to MLS. Usually the first question if a buyer is interested in the home.

This is a hot topic!  In our area, the seller is supposed to disclose any known defects on the disclosure.  Some sellers are honest, some aren't.  It is a difficult term to describe

In DE and PA, the seller fills out a multi-page disclosure at time of listing. Agents are NOT to fill it in for them! They fill it out to the best of their knowledge (hopefully not with fingers crossed behind their backs). And there is nothing on the MLS about "known defects, " but  agents are supposed to attach a copy of the Property Discosure to the MLS listing.

Transparency & disclosure keeps you out of court. I typically upload whatever is on-hand: reports & disclosures as the listing goes. These days the go so quick the ink hasn't had time to dry though :)

I concur with Jan Green on this one.  When I list a property I get the seller to fill out the SPDS - Seller Property Disclosure Statement. 

To my knowledge, as it shows on here that most states don't have "no known defects" as an option on their MLS.  I think that is for a good reason, what might be a defect to one person, would not be to another.  Also, with some homes, the list of defects on a foreclosure home might take 7-8 hours to document.  I don't consider a 2 inch cut in a screen a defect, however, someone might say it is.  This is why an option for "no known defects" should not be on the MLS. 

I think a seller's disclosure should be required on every MLS listing.  However, the agent needs to make sure the disclosure in filled out properly.  I had a seller's disclosure where the seller marked "don't know" on everything, including the question, "Was the home built prior to 1978?"  An agent should not be able to take that listing, so the seller would be forced to fill out one properly.

Greg Nino Here in Louisiana its mandatory for the Seller to disclosure. We then in my market upload and place on the MLS. In addition, as a safety precaution we have the Sellers fill out the Property Disclosure. This we hope will stop a Seller from saying we told the agent and they (the Agent) did not disclose. 

Greg - We don't have those fields on our MLS, and I am kinda glad we don't. We rely strictly on the 7 page Seller Property Disclosure Statement.

Locally in CA "contractor special", needing "TLC" is about all I have seen.  They often lead to more serious defects....

Sellers are required to disclosures that materially affect the value of the property and not readily seen... Most often the known defect is just a blind seller!

HA!  I just had this conversation with a client this morning.  I delivered them the Sellers' Disclosure and said "It's not worth the paper it's written on"   Why?  Well, because when there is an "UNKNOWN" box to check off . . . what's the point??  "Has the roof leaked?" and seller checks UNKNOWN.  LMAO.  How can anyone prove another's KNOWledge of a particular issue/defect.  You can't.  That's why you get the home inspected and negotiate the repairs.