The Seller’s Disclosure is a required document that you must complete to sell your home. It outlines a variety of topics pertaining to your property including appliances and systems, current defects, past insurance claims, and past inspection reports.
Not only is it required by Texas law, it also provides an enormous amount of protection to you as a seller. This is where you document your knowledge of the property and provide proof if needed in the event that a buyer claims they were not told about a known defect on the property. If you’re aware of that doorbell not working quite right, the rule of thumb is disclose, disclose, disclose.
The Seller’s Disclosure is also an opportunity to advertise to buyers the features your property has, as well as the absence of any defects if that is the case. For example, if you’re selling a property that has zero flooding history, that would be something super appealing to the typical buyer.
The are several exceptions to this rule in which you are not required to provide a Seller’s Disclosure, however the following may be used as general rules of thumb:
You have never lived in the property
You are selling directly to a family member or another co-owner
The home you are selling is new construction
The seller is deceased and the home is being sold by an estate
More questions about the Seller’s Disclosure?