Sellers need to be honest – and upfront – about defects

You’re getting ready to sell your home. The market is a bit softer than it was a year ago. There’s more competition from other sellers. So, you plan to tidy the place up and maybe downplay its defects. After all, who would buy the place if you revealed the trouble you had with the roof or the fact that your neighbor’s son practices his drums late into the night?

Sellers beware: What you don’t disclose to the buyer could come back to bite you.

Disclosure laws vary from state to state, but the trend nationally is toward requiring sellers to disclose more about defects they’re aware of, not less.

For the last few years, buyers have paid record prices for homes. In some cases, they waived their rights to inspect the property.

As the market softens, buyers are less likely to be forgiving of defects discovered after closing, especially if they’re sure the seller concealed them.

Misleading a buyer about the condition of your property can have serious consequences. Don’t risk diminishing your sale proceeds in a legal action. Thorough disclosures not only protect the buyer, but they also protect you.

Most people appreciate knowing as much as possible about a property before they buy it. They can usually live with the fact that the place isn’t perfect as long as they have a chance to investigate and digest this information upfront. Lawsuits can develop when information is withheld or when buyers are intentionally deceived.

It’s a good idea to disclose what’s wrong with your property, as well as past problems that you’ve repaired and areas that require routine maintenance to keep problems from occurring. For example, you may have skylights that need caulking periodically to keep them from leaking. You could receive a call from an outraged buyer after the first rain if you fail to disclose this. If you disclose it, preferably in writing, the new owner has been forewarned.

Sellers who know disclosure is a good thing can still find themselves in hot water if they aren’t careful about how they make their revelations. Telling a buyer that a problem has been fixed is just asking for trouble, as this infers that the defect won’t recur.

Rather than assert that a problem has been fixed, be specific about how you dealt with the situation. For example, let’s say your roof leaked last year. You called a roofer who made a repair. Rather than tell the buyer that the roof is fixed, you might make a factual statement.

It’s also wise to resist the temptation to oversell the condition of your property. Pride of ownership is common. However, don’t let the emotional attachment to your home get in the way of making accurate disclosures. Sellers love to tell buyers about how well the furnace works or that the neighborhood is safe.

No house is perfect, so don’t go on record insisting yours is.

Dian Hymer is a syndicated columnist and author of “House Hunting: The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers.”