Permit Us...To Teach a History Lesson....

We have something similar Sally K. & David L. Hanson and I like to go back and look into old MLS listings. Most sellers do not know unless it affected them while they were living there. 

Ours is called the Seller's Property Disclosure Statement (SPDS), so a lot of people pronounce it as spuds and I have even seen agents (not so smart ones, obviously) actually write it as spuds, rather than SPDS, haha.

Good morning Sally K. & David L. Hanson ,

We have the seller's disclosure that is eith 4 or 5 pages depending on which one the sellers use (there are 2 promogulated forms acceptable). As a listing agent we cannot fill this out, only try and jog the memory of the sellers about things that happened..they need to fill it out. If the house has transferred hands a number of times you can often find the old seller's disclosure on line as an attachment to a previous listing. If the house hasn't transferred in hands in 10 years and the seller didn't keep the sellers disclosure when they purchased the home..most likely won't find it.

Good morning Sally and David. I am not sure I agree. I think there is a point in time when people should rely upon their own inspectors and such. Agents in my view should not be investigators.

Hi Sally and David -- local representation matters...a lot....you make the difference for buyers and sellers in your Wisconsin real estate market place -- your clients ar well-represented.  

Honesty and full disclosure is the best policy for home sellers.

We don't have these reports, but we go to the towns to dig up whatever we can... 

Sally and David it is important to accurately disclose everything, or risk finding yourself in court later.

I've never seen a Maryland report, so my information came from Lenn Harley.  Her word was "worthless."

In Virginia, since we don't have disclosure, the home inspection is super important.  But aside from the inspection I am not sure what homework I would do!  I look the house up before I go there, but don't investigate things like permits as that is not my scope.  The information is on line though, so buyers can always check.

Sally and David, this blog led me to post an article on the value of a Property Disclosure Statement, from a home inspector's perspective. Thank you for the topic!

The tough part is when a home goes to foreclosure and the bank or investor takes over.  Buyers have to do thier due diligence no matter what. 

Just had an attorney review a case where the seller failed to disclose that termite repair had been done and the buyer found a report and invoice in a drawer.  The owner was liable for all costs the buyer incurred for inspections and all other legal costs and of course the buyer would get back their earnest money if they wanted to recind the contract. 

I remember when these disclosure forms first came to Idaho. My broker at the time was dead set against them - saying they would do nothing but lead to lawsuits.

Sally, they may be called something different in every state, but disclosure from the Seller is an important factor.

I encourage all my buyers get a home inspection and review our equivalent to your real estate condition report; before going forward Sally K. & David L. Hanson 

We have similar disclosures and when in doubt disclose has been my motto, I have met only a handful of sellers who did not prescribe to this theory... they were into Lying , Cheating and when in doubt repeat....Endre

Sally and David

That's a detailed report on the home being sold.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

We have a similar document and I encourage every seller to put every little detail on their report. It is about disclosure and most buyers are fine with it once they know.

Due diligence is a key responsibility of real estate agents. We need to get to the bottom of a home's history. And, you are rght that many sellers do not know what might have been changed in their own residence over time. Thanks for sharing!

If we don’t remember history, we’re doomed to repeat it pretty much always.

Due diligence is an understatement but accurate overall. Be careful, everybody. Delphine Nguyen