Seller Disclosure Requirements For Florida Listings

When marketing homes for sale, sellers and agents have a legal responsibility to tell everything known about a residence. Most legal battles relate to buyers assuming that a homeowner intentionally hid details. The following are seller disclosure requirements for Florida listings.

Why Sellers Must Disclose

Disclosing material facts is crucial. In some cases, not divulging information about a property might simply result in a home buyer spending money on repairs. In more dramatic cases, it may cause bodily injury. There was a case where a heating malfunction led to the death of the home buyers and to the seller being guilty of manslaughter. Sellers often presume that disclosing some information impacts whether a property sells or the selling price, but neglecting to disclose can have much worse consequences.

Disclosing Methods

Sellers can use designated forms for disclosing facts on a home. It can also be mentioned in P&S Agreements. Disclosing all issues, even resolved issues, is the safest way to transfer properties. Buyers are likely to discover the problems anyway during inspections, upon residing there, or from neighbors. Furthermore, buyers usually negotiate issues differently when they uncover a problem themselves than if disclosed prior to offer submission. To help facilitate disclosure, maintain receipts from purchases or contract work.