In the 1920s and 1930s before real estate agents became popular, homeowners were selling homes that had defects to unsuspecting home buyers without disclosing the information. Today, things have changed in the real estate world, and home sellers are required by law to disclose any latent defects that can affect the material value of the property. A latent defect is something that is not seen or obvious to the eye. For example, a roof leak is not easily spottable, especially if the repair was done, so it is the job of the seller to disclose that information to the buyer.
It is very important for sellers to be as honest as possible in the seller’s disclosure. If a seller sells the house without disclosing certain information, the buyer has the right to request that the seller pays for repairs since it was not disclosed to them before purchasing the home. Most Orlando real estate brokerages have seller disclosures available for sellers to fill out. This document is five pages, and it asks the sellers detailed information about the property. At the bottom of every page, the buyer and seller initial to agree on what is in the document. This protects sellers against the buyer coming back months later and requesting the seller to pay a repair -- a roof leak, for example, that was disclosed on the disclosure. The seller can contact their listing agent and review the document. If it was disclosed and both initials are on the disclosure, the buyer would have to acknowledge they were in fact informed, and the seller would be responsible for the repair. This process protects both the homeowner and the homebuyer from difficult problems in the future.
Even the though the seller's disclosure is very detailed, there are some things that do not necessarily need to be listed in the state of Florida. For example, if there was a murder or suicide in a central Florida house for sale, sellers do not need to disclose that in the state of Florida. If you would like more research on the home, google the neighborhood or home address to see if that area has been marked in public records.
As a buyer, it is still important to have a home inspection done on the property. The seller disclosure only discloses items the seller knows about. A proper inspection will find the items on the disclosure as well as whatever is not known. In the event that an inspection is performed and the deal does not go through for whatever reason, the seller should then update the seller disclosure to include any item the inspection brought to their attention.
In some cases, sellers may not know about certain issues that the home has; however, if you are a seller, you should be as honest as possible to avoid future complications. It is very important to work with listing agents and buyer agents who have your best interest at heart; they will walk you through every step of the process to make sure you make the right decisions. With this process, you can buy or sell your Orlando, Florida, home safely and easily!
As always, we are here to help you! Please feel free to Contact Us, and I hope that I have helped you get real estate smart.
