North Carolina General Statute 47E requires you to fill out a property disclosure statement when you sell your property.

Click on the "Property Disclosure Statement" link to review the information needed and download a copy of the form in "PDF" format before you put your home on the market for sale: Property Disclosure Statement

You must provide a disclosure statement to all potential purchasers in connection with the sale (unless the tenant is already occupying or intends to occupy the dwelling), even if you are selling your home on your own. Except in cases of:

• Newly constructed, never occupied homes
• Transfers from one co-owner to another
• Transfers to a spouse or persons in the lineal line
• Transfers between spouses as a result of a divorce
• Transfers pursuant to a court order, foreclosures, bankruptcy, or by trustees or estate administrators
• Lease with option to purchase contract where the lessee occupies or intends to occupy the dwelling
• Transfers between parties when both parties agree in advance not to complete a residential property disclosure statement
  

Don’t forget that even (and especially) during these rough real estate times, you still must disclose everything and anything you know about the house. Failing to make the proper disclosures, those that have the potential to affect both the current and future value, sale-ability and livability of the property, is illegal. It can get both you and your agent into serious trouble.

So what if there are things even you didn’t know about the property to begin with? Investing in a home inspection before you list your home can reveal all sorts of things that should be disclosed to a potential buyer – even if they are things you have no intention of addressing before you sell. By the same token, if something is found during the course of the inspection that you know would be a real issue to potential buyers, you many want to get whatever it is repaired or replaced so buyers need not even have to think about the time and money it would take to fix it after move-in. Having a copy of that inspection available can actually be a great selling tool as well, showing buyers that you have left no stone unturned.

Disclosure forms are documents that must be signed and dated by both you and your Realtor and then offered to any potential buyers. A good mantra to have is – “if there’s a question about it – disclose it.” Some common items to disclose may evade your radar but are nonetheless of great importance to a potential buyer. Things like a noisy neighbor, trees encroaching onto the property, proximity to busy streets, golf balls regularly being hurled into your backyard, short term rentals in surrounding houses – in other words, anything YOU would want to know before buying a home. Don’t forget to include construction problems you’ve encountered with the original builder of your home, improvements you’ve made without permits being signed off, and electrical issues you’ve had when too many hairdryers get used at the same time.

Don’t let the buyer discover insurance claims against the property when he or she applies for coverage. Get them a CLUE (Claims Loss Underwriting Exchange) report. Only homeowners can obtain it, but buyers can make their entire purchase contingent upon seeing a copy of it.

Of course, potential buyers must also be told of either things that go bump in the night or a death that occurred within the house during recent years. Your agent will know the breadth and the extent to which you must disclose. But as we said -- when in doubt, don’t leave it out.

William "Art" Sexton
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.Raleigh-Real-Estate.biz