Property Disclosure Statements--What Do You Check In NC.?

Property Disclosure statements in North Carolina are mandated with every house that is listed (unless the home is a foreclosed home). The property disclosure statement asks a lot of relevant questions and helps provide information to the buyer that can help them make a better more informed decision. As A Realtor in north Carolina we can assist and help with the filling out of ALL the paperwork for a listing EXCEPT for the north Carolina property disclosure statement. this form MUST be filled out by the seller(s). As a Realtor we can explain the form and the choices they have to make but cannot fill out the form for them or steer them to a certain way to fill out the form. For those not clear what is on the form...it is a pretty basic form that asks questions about the age of the structure, heating, A/C, plumbing, roof, easements, issues with the house, etc.... the seller has the option of checking yes they know there is an issue with it, no they are not aware of an issue with it or no representation. A vast majority of people will check either yes or no on the property disclosure statement. Some will go with no representation. What the seller chooses is the sellers choice. You cannot dictate to me that my seller has to answer any questions on the property disclosure statement if they wish not to..... The reason I bring this up is that a Realtor has asked me to have my seller redo the property disclosure statement and answer a list of 15 questions (there are only 21 on the whole form) . She felt that since she owned the house she has to answer these questions.....Sorry, but no she does not have to answer the questions.....This may be a buyer's market to a point but when it comes to what a seller wants to disclose and knowingly discloses; that is up to the seller. In this case the seller has moved and been out of the house for over 2 years. By not living in the house the for over 2 years she is unaware of any issues...but also does into want the liability if she says she knows there is no problem when in fact there is one. So she checked no representation. This is why buyers do inspections.... the property disclosure statement is designed to provide information the seller is willing to to give. Now, if the Realtor knows a material fact about an issue with the house and the seller does not disclose it; then the Realtor has to disclose it (that is for another blog).. The point is the seller has the right to choose what to disclose and what to not disclose. regardless of what the seller writes or checks off the buyer and the buyer's agent needs to do due diligence and make sure that the house is what they expect and that there are no issues that would affect them or the purchase of the house...... Dave diCecco Realtor/Broker www.davedicecco.com