In Texas, sellers are required by The Texas Property Code to provide a disclosure to the prospective buyer of any know material defects. Texas Association of Realtors provides a form your REALTOR will have available. In Austin, the Austin Board of Realtors also has a form.
There are some exemptions found in Section 5.008. New home builders, trustees or executors of estates and banks with foreclosures are not required to provide a sellers disclosure but they are still required to disclose any know material defects. Relocation companies are not exempt.
Robin Scott, Broker, Certified Residential Specialist, Accredited Buyer's Representative, Seller's Representative Specialist.
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3 comments:
I recently made an offer on a home for sale thru a local broker. I made the offer based on the sellers disclosure contingent upon repairs indicated thru an inspection and an appraisal supporting that price and an offer to buy at the appraised value if it did not meet the price. In the sellers disclosure they indicated that the roof was approximately 5 yrs old and no insurance claims were made where the proceeds had not been used to make the indicated repairs.
As a result, I paid for a home inspection and home appraisal. The inspection identified roof damage and/or defective shingles - 3 different roofers estimates indicated the roof needed to be replaced. As a result, I determined my final offer based on the assumption the seller's insurance company would replace the roof. On the last day of the opt out period when I submitted the final offer based on the appraisal and assumptions that roof would be replaced by insurance was when I found that the seller would have to pay for the roof out of pocket. What this tells me is that they did indeed file the claim approximately 5 years ago but did not replace the roof...and lied on their disclosure misrepresenting the age/condition of the roof and how it would be repaired - two factors that would have affected my outlay the the expenses for the appraisal and inspection. If the roof had been replaced as stated, they would have another valid insurance claim. I am concerned that the sellers agent (not my agent) was aware of this fact and concealed it.
Another issue which goes to ethics - after declining our offer, the sellers agent ask my agent for a copy of the Home Inspection Report and Appraisal - two items I paid for out of pocket. The fact that the agent asked the question under the current situation seems unethical...particularly if that information was to be used to negotiate a future sale to someone else or avoid seller expense in a future sale.
Under these circumstances, which would be the appropriate course of action: complaint to TREC , BBB, or see a lawyer to recoup expended funds or all of the above.
Note: the sellers agent and my agent work for the same company.
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