Seller's Property Disclosure - it was news to me!

We recently attended a roundtable discussion with Steve Greenberg, Real Estate Attorney with the firm Icard Merrill, and it would be impossible to share all of that. but a few of the high spots are right here. If just one of the tips below turns out to be a "Hey, it's news to me!" moment, then reading this was worth the minutes invested.

1. Do I (as a seller) HAVE to fill out a property disclosure in Florida? No, but it's a good idea. If a buyer comes back after the sale and says you hid a material fact that affected the value of the property, wouldn't you want to have a disclosure, signed by that buyer at the time you gave it to them (prior to the sale) that shows you disclosed fully? Enough said.
2. What should I (as a seller) put on the disclosure? The rule of thumb is, "If you have to ask, then you should disclose it." Always over-disclose, never under-disclose.
3. What if I (the seller) am listing the property "As-Is-With-Right-To-Inspect (AIWRTI) ?" You still have to disclose any latent defects known to you! To clarify, under a regular FAR-9 contract, the seller warrants that certain functional features of the home work as designed, and if a home inspector finds a problem with one of those features, the seller will pay for repairs up to a dollar limit specified in the contract. An AIWRTI contract does away with the obligation to repair and pay up to the dollar limit; it does NOT relieve you of the duty to disclose.
4. If I ( as seller) dislose a defect and the buyer accepts that defect and proceeds with a contract, am I covered? Not necessarily. The Seller's Disclosure is not a formal part of the contract. If the defect is one that has the potential to be particularly costly or litigious (like, say, an addition that was built without a permit), you'd want to be very explicit in documenting disclosure and acceptance within the contract. It would be wise to add to the contract, in the "Additional Terms" section, wording to the effect that "The Seller has disclosed to the Buyer that   (whatever the defect is)   , and Buyer agrees to accept the property with the defect."
5. I (as the buyer) received a copy of the Seller's Disclosure. Should I give a copy to the person I hire to do my home inspection? YES. Don't turn the inspection into an easter egg hunt for the inspector; give the inspector all the information you have so they can pay particular attention to areas of concern.

Again, if just one of these tips was new information to you, then it was well worth a look!