What is a Residential Property Disclosure Statement?

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Written by Middleton O'Malley

Real Estate Tips

Whenever a buyer becomes serious about a home, it is correct procedure for the seller, or seller’s agent, to provide the buyer with a Property Disclosure Document for Residential Real Estate. This four page document, theoretically, provides an accurate condition description of the seller’s property. It sounds like a serious piece of information, and it should be. But the practical reality is…this document is prepared by the seller, a human being with a possible predisposition to being overly proud of their home, and, it is quite possible that the seller actually doesn’t know a whole lot about their home! In fact, most home owners who are not contractors aren’t in an informed position to provide more than superficial information about their home’s condition. It would be like someone asking you to fill out a form describing the mechanical condition of your car, with specific references to its transmission, fuel system, motor, and breaks, etc. Unless you’re a mechanic, forget about it!

Sure, some sellers are spot-on accurate with their property condition description, but some are not.  So, what are you to do?  First of all, look at The Property Disclosure Document for Residential Real Estate as a general guide, and nothing more.  The real information will come from the home inspection which takes place after an agreed contract is signed by both parties.  Armed with a comprehensive home inspection report, you will have a reasonably good understanding of your home-to-be’s condition; it will provide sufficient information to make the next decision, to buy or not to buy.

Annunciation Street, GREEN House Building Project!

This week, I interviewed the owner of our GREEN project, Mr. Chris Kornman, who, along with his father, own Southern Homes, a Deep South builder of 100-150 homes a year.  Chris pointed out some interesting points about the project, along with his take on the long term value of GREEN construction.  Check out this week’s on-site video for the complete interview.


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