Do you have to disclose new information about a house to a buyer?
Today’s question is about disclosures. A question we will get occasionally is: when a property is in escrow, we have a buyer, it’s under contract, we’re representing the seller, and something happens to the house like a leak, do we have to disclose that? We’ve had a lot of rain recently, and suddenly, there’s a new leak in the house. What do we do about it? Do we have to disclose that to the buyer?
The answer is yes. According to the contract, we are supposed to keep the property in the same condition as it was when the offer was written. If something happens, and the roof caves in, or there’s a leak, and there’s a new problem: That becomes an additional disclosure. It’s very simple to do. With disclosures, you always want to pretend like you’re the buyer. What would you want to know if you were the buyer? You wouldn’t want the seller to hide something from you.
“We’ve had a lot of rain recently, and there’s a new leak in the house. What do we do about it?”
As good attorneys say, “over-disclose, over-disclose, over-disclose.” When something like that does pop up in escrow, like a roof leak, we want to add a supplement to what’s called the transfer disclosure statement. Just a simple explanation of what happened, when it happened, and what we’re doing to fix it.
Hopefully, this answers that question for you. Remember, if you have any more questions or real estate needs, please reach out to us. We are more than happy to be a resource for people.
