{"id":6201,"date":"2025-11-19T04:00:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T12:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=6201"},"modified":"2025-11-30T22:04:32","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T06:04:32","slug":"mandated-disclosures-real-estate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/mandated-disclosures-real-estate\/","title":{"rendered":"What Are You Required to Disclose When You Sell Your Home?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you set out to sell a house, most states require you to make certain disclosures. Disclosures refer to any material defects in the home, and in many states, you will be held liable if you don\u2019t tell the buyer about them upfront.<\/p>\n

To avoid getting into legal trouble, it\u2019s imperative that you know what you should and need not disclose when you fill out your disclosure statement. We\u2019ve done all of the legwork for you and pulled sample disclosure docs for every single state.<\/p>\n

In this article, you\u2019ll be able to read up on the disclosures in your state and take a look at a sample disclosure form to prepare yourself before filling out the real one.

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What is a seller\u2019s disclosure statement or seller\u2019s disclosure form?<\/h2>\n

In a nutshell, the basis of most state disclosure documents is the same. You\u2019ll be asked a series of questions about the condition of your property and whether anything is broken, damaged, or does not work. This includes things like the foundation of the house<\/a>, skylights, plumbing, pool, HVAC, etc.<\/p>\n

Some states require you to disclose problems with the land; others just with the structure of the home itself. Select states have additional disclosures that you need to note. For example, in Washington State<\/a>, you must disclose if you live near a farm.<\/p>\n

In some states, including California, your real estate agent is not legally allowed to help you fill out the form, so you\u2019ll need to complete it on your own.<\/p>\n

Chris Murray<\/a> is a top-performing real estate agent in Hemet, California<\/a>, who sells properties 59% quicker than the average local agent. He explains how filling out his state\u2019s disclosure form, called the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS), works during a home sale: \u201cWe hand the form to the seller, they can fill it out, and then that is what we provide to the buyer to relay any of the seller\u2019s known issues with the home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n The key is, it\u2019s known issues. They\u2019re not going to dig into investigating anything. It\u2019s a simple \u2018Are you aware of \u2026?\u2019 and they say \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no.\u2019 If they\u2019re not aware of it, that\u2019s the end of it. They don\u2019t have to investigate to get a clear answer.<\/span><\/i><\/q>\n
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