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Disclose, Disclose, Disclose

Honestly, this seems to be one of the hardest issues in the real estate business, yet it is also one of the easiest issues to understand:

As a seller: disclose, disclose, disclose!

I’ve interacted with several properties very recently where the seller did not know or decided it wasn’t pertinent to share material facts about the condition of the property that affect the buyer’s use and enjoyment of the property.

In one situation, the seller had installed a new electrical panel and the Seller’s Disclosure Statement asked if there were permits pulled for work completed and they said yes.  Come to my buyer’s inspection and the inspector pulls off the electrical panel cover and finds that the entire electrical panel is missing a ground.  For those of you not mechanically inclined, that means the electrical panel was a FIRE WAITING TO HAPPEN!  Turns out that permits were never pulled for much of the electrical upgrades that were done.  I was able to see this through to successful resolution, but it added significant stress to the transaction.

One of my friends bought a house last year that appeared to be and was disclosed as a “solid house” but in the last year he has discovered clogged pipes, significant water intrusion, leaking water lines, and mice all over the place.  Hrm… not the house he thought he was buying!

When it comes to work done, be honest about permits.  When it comes to past or current damage, be honest as to the problem, the solution, and whether there have been any problems since.  As many Realtors say: “If you disclose it upfront a buyer will accept it, if they find it out later on their own they’ll feel you are cheating/lying to them and will make you pay for it and then some.”

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TwinCitiesRealEstateBlog.com is not a Multiple Listing Service MLS, nor does it offer MLS access.
This website is a service of Aaron Dickinson of Edina Realty, a broker Participant of the Regional Multiple Listing Service of Minnesota, Inc.