Everything Decatur Buyers Need to Know About Your Seller’s Disclosure
Everything Decatur Buyers Need to Know About Your Seller’s Disclosure
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could easily trust everything that you were told during the Decatur home buying process? Unfortunately, it just isn’t that easy. And that’s why you need to make sure that you are carefully looking over each document that you receive, including the Seller’s Disclosure.
If you are unfamiliar with the Seller’s Disclosure, it’s a document Decatur buyers will receive that the seller completed. It is supposed to list everything about the condition of the house that the seller knows about. The information included in this document will help you decide if you really want to buy the Decatur house and what price you’re comfortable paying.
What’s in a seller’s disclosure?
A seller’s disclosure is a standard form that Decatur sellers complete. It covers current and past things like leaks, renovations completed without permits, pests, mold, problems with plumbing, electrical, or HVAC, the age of the roof and household systems. It also includes things such as if asbestos is present or lead paint as well as if there are current liens on the house.
There is no national standard on what needs to be disclosed because it varies from state to state and sometimes from county to county.
How do you know if the seller is disclosing everything?
The difficult part is you don’t really know if Decatur sellers are being 100 percent honest on the form. While they are legally required to complete it accurately there’s no real way to know that they have. If the seller leaves most of the form blank or marks that they are unsure on many of the answers it could be a sign that they are hiding something.
The form can also be tricky because all it includes is what the Decatur seller actually knows about. That means if there are termites in the walls or a crack in the foundation, they honestly might not know about it before selling the house.
How to proceed as a buyer
It’s important that you look over the seller’s disclosure to see if anything catches your eye. You can also protect yourself by having a home inspection completed before closing on the house. It’s a good idea to make sure that you include the inspection as a contingency on your offer. This way if the inspection shows things that weren’t included in the seller’s disclosure you have an opportunity to renegotiate the deal or to back out without losing any of your earnest money deposit.
Don’t forget to trust your gut as you work through the process of buying a Decatur house. If something doesn’t feel or sound quite right don’t be afraid to question it. You don’t need to feel rushed or bullied into a home deal. Make sure that you’re comfortable with things that you are seeing, hearing, and reading.
If you have any questions make sure to address them with your real estate agent. When you do your best to complete your due diligence then you’ll be able to rest easy once the Decatur house is yours.