Working with eight different buyers over the course of the last month is certainly helping me stay organized and out of trouble. I’ve spent some time contemplating (when I HAVE time!) about what I am learning and what is important in this process. One of the most useful things buyers can get is a copy of the State of Ohio Property Disclosures for the homes they are viewing.
Home owners are required to fill out the forms based on information that covers the past five years of knowledge they have on the home. Questions revolve around the status of the roofs, basements, structure. Water intrusion is a big issue surrounding many of the questions, whether it’s leaking roofs or water in the basement. The Cincinnati Board of Realtors® has a good one page explanation of these property disclosures.
These disclosures have been required by law since the 90s and for good reason. Ohio is an ‘As Is’ purchase state. That means you as a buyer are required to do your due diligence (homework) about the house before you buy it. As a part of this I ask all my buyers to do a home inspection. And if I can’t talk you into it I make you sign a waiver because I really think you should do it! It’s a few hundred dollars well spent. On the other side, sellers are asked to be transparent (honest, just like us bloggers) and disclose any issues that might have arisen or still exist.
Did you have a roof leak within the past five years? If you did and then had your roof replaced last year, then you disclose that on your forms. If you did not replace the roof yet, then say it’s still leaking. Why is this important over and above the honesty issue? Can you say lawsuits? You want to avoid being sued, I’m sure you do! As a matter of fact, here is another explanation of the law from lawyers.com. Thought you might want to see the forms so here is a copy of the 2004 version of the disclosures. Just about every year the forms get updated. If I have a seller listing their home with me, oh say in October of one year and a new version of the form comes out in January (and the home is still on the market), they fill out new forms so they are current with the law.
By law, a Realtor® or broker is not allowed to help you fill out this form in any way. So it’s worth it to take some time and answer the questions carefully.
What if you inherit a home after your parents pass away? Maybe you have not lived in the property for the last five years. You are required to fill out the form and state that you are unaware of issues (if you really ARE unaware) that exist in the home because you now own it but do not reside there.
I can tell you that on two occasions this month I have had buyers pass on writing an offer on homes they loved because there was a difference between what the disclosures said and what existed in the home. This made them uncomfortable about moving forward. They felt there might be other issues they were not aware of. That is another reason to be really honest in your assessment of the questions on the form. When someone writes an offer on your home, the purchase offer will have questions asking them if they have seen the disclosures (received a copy of them). Here again is a copy of the 2004 Residential Property Disclosures – in case you missed the link above. Your Realtor® can get you the most recent version when you are ready to put your home on the market. Peace Out – 3C
0 responses so far ↓
1 Ann Cummings // Apr 13, 2008 at 11:32 am
Carole – these disclosures are so important and some homeowners just barely answer the important questions that are required to be answered. I agree with you about the importance of inspections. There are times that homeowners just are completely unaware of some problem with their property, and the inspections are the only way those kinds of things are uncovered. I like the signature on the waiver – we do that here, too.
2 Carole Cohen // Apr 14, 2008 at 11:36 am
Ann, glad to hear you stress the importance of an inspection in NH as well. Sounds like you and I both explain that more information on disclosures is better than just checking the boxes – all agents should really do that then we’d have good communication through the disclosures; it doesn’t have to be a scary prospect for the home owners, these disclosures, informative not scary!
3 Jonathan Bunn- Ashburn VA Real Estate // Apr 21, 2008 at 1:47 pm
cool site. this issue is sooooo important. i have clients that have a contract on a house built in the 40′s that are passing on the home inspection. yikes. i am having them sign a form saying they pased on it also. this risk is just not worth a few hundred buckeroo’s.
4 Carole Cohen // Apr 21, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Hi John, boy do I agree that a few hundred dollars on an inspection is money well spent. Thanks for the compliment, and thanks for stopping by!
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