There are various laws regarding property disclosure enacted by the Congress and state legislatures. Moreover, there are certain principles that have evolved from various case laws or court opinions. Being a prudent real estate investor, you must be aware of these things. Property disclosure plays very important role in a real estate deal. Therefore, if you are not aware of such things, it might affect the success of your deal. The following tips will certainly prove very handy for you in this regard.

Property Disclosure Statement and Your Purchase Contract
If you are a real estate buyer, do not forget to attach the disclosure statement to your purchase contract. Moreover, you should make the disclosure report part of the contract by incorporating it by a reference. For example, you can use a clause like “The property disclosure statement is attached hereto as Exhibit ‘X?and incorporated herein by reference.?This way disclosure report works like any other provision in the contract. This will turn out to be very useful for you in many cases. Let me give you an example. If you find out that the report is not completely genuine or there is something wrong with it, you can renegotiate the purchase contract or if you do not feel like going ahead with the contract, you can just terminate the same. 

What if the seller does not want to attach any property disclosure statement?
Be alert. It clearly means that he/she is not genuine and trying to hide something. Therefore, if the seller proposes to make a purchase contract without adding a property disclosure statement with the same, never agree at such a proposal. In the form of property disclosure statement, you get a weapon that you can use against any ‘potential?fraud attempted by the seller. It helps you to find out if the seller is truthful or not. Always remember, it is your right to ask the seller to add a property disclosure statement, and it is the responsibility of the seller to do so.

Ask the Seller to Disclose Material Facts
Disclosing ‘material facts?means disclosing any knowledge that the seller has regarding the property and its surrounding area. There are specific laws regarding the disclosure of material facts. There are specific rulings that have emerged from individual lawsuit, and the rules vary from state to state. In some states, it is the responsibility of the seller to disclose material facts, while in some other states they do not require doing so. However, it is always prudent for a real estate buyer to ask the seller to disclose the material facts, irrespective of whether the state law says to do so or not. After all, when you buy a property, the surrounding area plays a very important role. Let me give you an example. It might be possible that the surrounding area is haunted, and you will not be able to find another buyer for the same. Therefore, always ask the seller to disclose a ‘material facts?statement. After all, precaution is the best treatment.

What if the seller does not want to attach the material facts statement?
Always remember you, being a buyer, have the right to be told everything about the property and every other thing that is relevant to the property. Moreover, ‘material facts?are always reasonably relevant to the real estate buyer because he/she has to take decision with those facts in hand. Think about some more situations. It might be possible that the transportation department of the state is planning to put a turnpike exit ramp down the road. Moreover, it is also possible that there is a sewage treatment plant around the corner. In fact, there can be many such situations. Therefore, even if the seller gives logic and tries to convince that such a statement is not relevant, do not agree at this. Refusal to add such statement always arise suspicion that the seller might certainly be aware of any such things that can lead to potential lawsuits. Therefore, even if you are convinced that there is no such problem, it is always prudent to ask the seller to add a statement. 

Have knowledge of what does the state law say
The laws regarding property disclosure vary from state to state, and you must be aware of what do the laws in your state say. This will eventually help you convince the seller to add such statements, if he/she refuses to do so.

Hence, if you are aware of your rights as well as the specific laws regarding property disclosure in your state, this will lead you to a secure real estate deal.

 

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