I'd like to visit with you a moment, especially if you're in the market to sell or buy a home.
In Texas, we have a required real estate form thats title is "Seller's Disclosure." Its purpose is to systematically get the seller to give information about the condition of the house so that potential buyers can have their questions answered.
When he's finished answering the questions, he signs it and gives it to his real estate agent to copy and give to all who might be considering purchasing the home. In general, an owner of a single family dwelling must provided a potential purchaser with a copy of this completed form before a sale can take place.
The problem is that there is apparently no serious penalty for fudging the truth....not to the seller and not to the agent for knowingly allowing it.
This past week I was given two "Seller's Disclosures." Both gave glowing reports, and neither was even close to stating the truth. Without anything more than a cursory study, I found incorrect answers, one after another.
One owner said everything worked. Let me tell you what obviously didn't that he specifically said did: the air conditioning was out; the sprinkler system had one head that worked and wouldn't shut down after the cycle was completed; the wiring to the swimming pool pump had obviously been bootlegged in because it was a hodgepodge of indoor Romex and with no conduit; the toilets had white bases and bone tanks; someone had put in a floating wood laminate floor without allowing any expansion space between it and the walls; and on and on.
Ironically both of these sellers appear desperate to get the sale of their homes behind them. One has moved to another state and the other has bought another house and moved there. But they've set their plans up to fail.
In each case my clients wanted to buy their house. In each case an offer was made, but it became obvious that the Sellers wanted to deed the house with the fabricated truth rather than the real truth. And they didn't want to consider making the repairs so that the condition of the house would be consistent with what they had certified. My clients didn't buy.
That makes me become more supportive of a requirement that a house be inspected by a professional, licensed inspector BEFORE the house can be put on the market, and further, that a potential buyer has to have seen that inspection report before he can enter a contract to purchase.
Perhaps if sellers were required to play with a full deck, there would be a more orderly market and more sales.
In the meantime, if you are planning to sell your home, how about getting a licensed inspector to make a thorough journey through your home, then have the stuff he finds fixed. Then you can fill out the Seller's Disclosure wth truthful answers and show the prospects the inspectors independent report.
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