Why You Should Never Rely on the Seller Disclosures when Finalizing a Home Purchase

However, do not make the mistake of assuming that this step is completely taken care of as there are other factors to consider.

Disclosure points to be wary of

While a seller is obligated to tell you about past and present problems that they know, they are not obligated to tell you something that they do not know. This makes sense as it protects the seller in case the buyer has any problems that the previous owners had no idea even existed. Keep in mind though that these disclosures are not in any way a warranty for future problems.

For example, if the dishwasher is working fine at the time the house is finalized but breaks a week later then it is the responsibility of the new home owners to fix it. Disclosures often do not require sellers to disclose everything about the property including noise from the area or even problems outside the home that are easily observed. This can obviously create problems for the unknowing buyer.

Always get a professional to do complete checks

Disclosures can be helpful to the buyer when deciding on a home but it is still in your best interest to get a professional assessment done. It also doesn’t help that some states have different rules when it comes to disclosures so inspection should always be done by professionals. And it doesn’t even have to apply to defects or known problems in the home.

Some of the things to carefully examine include: schools in the area, access to highways, construction zones, parking areas, commute to work, water services, utility bills and even neighborhood conditions. If a seller is not disclosing everything to you then it may be better to simply pass and move on to the next property on your list that you are interested in.