Importance Of A Seller's Disclosure Seller's Disclosure And Condition Of Property Addendum 
The Seller's Disclosure And Condition Of Property Addendum in Kansas City is the real estate document where Kansas City home sellers disclose to home buyers, potential home buyers, listing agents and selling agents ALL material defects, conditions and facts known to the Seller which may materially affect the value of the property. The Seller's Disclosure is filled out by the home seller before the home is put on the market. Bank homes are often sold as-is, with no Seller's Disclosure. This is because banks rarely have knowledge of the homes they're selling. However, if they do know any material defects with the home, they must disclose the info and can't simply hide behind the vale of selling the home as-is.
When home buyers make an offer on a typical resale home, they will read the Seller's Disclosure and factor that information into any offers they make. Or at least they should. Some buyers will however try and double dip by factoring the info into the sales price AND then asking the seller to make repairs to the same items during the 10-day inspection process. Attempting this isn't fair to home sellers and rarely works since home sellers and listing agents are quick to point out the buyer was aware of that fact when the offer was initially made.
Filling out a Seller's Disclosure helps jog a sellers memory so they can accurately disclosure prior issues and what's been done since to address them. Being 100% honest in filling out the Seller's Disclosure could prevent a home seller from getting sued later. Home sellers will occasionally ask if a certain item should be disclosed and the answer is almost always... If it was worth asking the question, it's worth disclosing. Paragraph headings in the Kansas City Seller's Disclosure include: Occupancy, Land, Infestation, Structural, Additions, Plumbing, Heating, Air conditioning, Electrical, Plumbing, Hazardous materials, Neighborhood, Utility, Fixtures, Equipment and Appliances. In other words, just about everything a buyer might have questions about with a home.
The Seller's Disclosure is a great document but also states "the information being provided by the home Seller is limited to information of which the Seller has actual knowledge of at the time the document is dated" and "the seller is required only to make an honest effort at completely revealing the information requested". Buyers then sign the document with the understanding "the property is being sold by the Seller without any warranty or guaranty" and "the Buyer understands they need to independently inspect and satisfy any concerns they may have with information in the Seller's Disclosure..." Still, between a Seller's Disclosure and having an independent home inspection, buyers should have a very good idea of the product they're purchasing. |