By Joel Persinger Unlike selling a bicycle, old book or stuff at the swap meet, selling a home “as is” requires a bit more openness on the part of the seller. California real estate law requires a seller to disclose any material facts that the seller is aware of that affect the value or desirability of the property. But, what exactly is a “material fact?”
Not being an attorney I can’t give you the “legal beagle” answer, so you’ll have to settle for the real estate broker version. In my experience it is best for the seller of a home to consider the definition of “material fact” to include anything that might be of concern to a buyer, past or present, no matter how off the wall it may seem.
About fifteen or sixteen years ago I ran into an agent who told me a nightmare story that had happened to one of his clients. In this case, the agent in question was representing the seller. It seems that the seller believed his home to be haunted. Unfortunately, he never told the agent, buyer or anyone else involved in the sale. The property closed escrow without a hitch and the buyers moved in happy as a lark to be in their new home. A few weeks went by and all was right with the world. Then one day, the buyer was out working in his new front yard when a neighbor strolled by and said, “Hi, you must be the new neighbors. How do you like the house?” “We love it”, said the buyer. “Oh, that’s great” responded the neighbor, after which he asked the killer question, “Seen any ghosts yet?” As you might imagine, the buyers were no longer happy in the house. They got an attorney and went after the seller and the agent. It was a giant mess.
This example may seem outlandish, but I have seen disputes arise over the fact that the seller never told the buyer that the neighbor’s kid played the drums all afternoon, or that one of the neighbors in the cul-de-sac had wild parties every weekend. Conflicts have arisen because the seller never told the buyer that the roof leaked the previous year. Sellers sometimes think these things aren’t important because they’ve hired a roofer to come out and fix it. But then suddenly, a month or two after the sale the rainy season comes, the roof leaks again and the neighbor stands in the driveway and hollers to the buyer, “Getting the roof fixed again? The guy who lived here before had the same problem last year.”
As your real estate dude, here’s my advice: disclose, disclose, disclose and if you have any questions as to whether you should disclose something, disclose it twice! If you know something about the house or the neighborhood that might blow up in your face when the buyer finds out about it, don’t keep it to yourself. If you do, just like the ghost in the first story it’ll come back to haunt you.
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