No one wants to point out the shortcomings of something they are trying to sell. In the old days, buyers purchased real estate by signing a purchase agreement that stated the buyer was getting the property in “as is” condition.
Today, most states including Illinois require that the seller sign a form when putting their property on the market known as a Seller’s Disclosure Statement. This form lists every component of the house and asks the seller to indicate the present known condition of each and whether they are aware of any material defects. Basically, the seller is asked to state yes, no or unknown as to the present known condition of each item listed on the form. The Seller Disclosure Statement is made available to any interested buyer through the listing agent.
If the buyer, acting on the information provided in the disclosure form, buys the house and later determines that the seller was not honest when completing the form, he or she could have recourse for satisfaction from the seller.
Now that the Seller Disclosure Statement has been explained, do you think this approach is a bad thing for the seller? With my thirty five years of selling residential real estate, I think that it is good for both the buyer and seller to go on record as to his or her present knowledge about the condition of each item in the house. If an item is defective, the buyer can take that into account when making an offer. If the seller does not know about the present condition of some item, the buyer knows this and can ask a home inspector for advice.
As seller disclosure statement actually protects both the buyer and seller. The buyer knows in advance about the property’s condition and the seller has had the opportunity to state what he or she does and does not know about each item.
ADVICE: List your home with a Realtor®. Realtors know about seller disclosure laws and how to abide by them.
