What Documents Papers Forms Buying Real Estate Oklahoma - Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement

Article #1 in the series "Documents Papers Forms Buying Real Estate Oklahoma

This is the first post in this series that will list and explain the forms used by most real estate offices in Oklahoma, for buying real estate.

Today's Document, Paper, Form is The Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement.  The Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement is required by Oklahoma Law (the "Residential Property Condition Disclosure Act" Title 60, O>S., Sections 831 et seq. which became effective July 1, 1995).  Yes, this law has been in place for almost 18 years!

Sellers of 1 and/or 2 residential dwelling units must complete, sign, and date the the Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement,  and cause it to be delivered to  Buyer Purchaser.  This should be done as soon as is practical and must be done before n offer can be accepted by the Seller.

To quote the form, "The declarations and information contained in this disclosure statement (The Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement) are not warranties, express or implied of any kind... The information contained ... is not intended to be a part of any contract between the Purchaser and Seller...  The information and statements .... are not the representations of the real estate licensee."

As a side note, if the selelr becomes aware of a defect after delivering this form to the Buyer, the Seller must deliver or cause to be delivered (usually through their real estate agent) an amended disclosure AND there is a separate form that we will talk about in a different post.

The Residential Property Condition Disclosure Statement is three (3) pages:

• The first page (Page 1) contains information about the Appliances, Systems, and Services.  The seller checks "N/A" if the home does not have the item, "Yes" if the home does have that system and it does work, "No" if the home does have the system, service, or appliance and it does NOT work, and "Unk" if the seller does not know if the home has that item.

• The second, and part of page 3  (Pages 2 and 3) deal with the source of household water, zoning, flood, additions, alterations, repairs, environmental disclosures, and property that might be shared in common, easements, Homeowner's Association, Legals.

Two more things to point out.  From the disclosure:  "A real estate licensee has no duty to the Seller or the Purchaser to conduct an independent inspection of the property and has no duty to independently verify the accuracy or completeness of any statement made by the seller in this disclosure statement"

and last but important, The Property Condition Disclosure Statement is only valid for 180 days from the date completed by the Seller.