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A seller disclosure is the form on which a seller states what they know about the condition of a house: past water intrusion, roof and foundation problems, systems that do not work, repairs and their causes, additions and whether they were permitted, known hazards, and matters like easements, boundary disputes, and association rules. The exact form and what it requires are set by state law and vary widely. This post describes what is commonly asked and how to answer from the record; it is not legal advice, and your agent or an attorney can tell you what your state requires.
The form has one principle behind it: a buyer is entitled to know what the seller knows. Everything else, the categories, the wording, the exceptions, is detail.
What is a seller disclosure?
A seller disclosure is a written statement of the material facts about a property that the seller actually knows, delivered to the buyer before or during the contract period, on a form most states prescribe. It is not a warranty that the house is sound, and it is not a promise that the seller has inspected anything. It is a record of knowledge. That is why a seller who has owned the house for a year can honestly answer "unknown" to questions a thirty-year owner cannot.
State rules differ in what must be disclosed, whether a standard form is required, whether some sellers (estates, banks, some new-construction builders) are exempt from parts of it, and what happens when something is left off. Some states require little in writing. Read the form your agent gives you, and ask an attorney when a question is unclear. Nothing in this post substitutes for that.
What does the form usually ask about?
The form usually walks through the house by system and then by legal condition: the roof, the structure and foundation, water and drainage, plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, appliances, environmental hazards, pests, additions and permits, and then the parcel itself (easements, boundaries, flood zone, association, litigation). Most questions are yes, no, or unknown, with space to explain a yes.
| Area | Typical questions |
|---|---|
| Roof | Age if known, leaks past or present, repairs and who did them |
| Structure and foundation | Cracks, settling, movement, repairs, engineering reports |
| Water | Flooding, seepage, standing water, sump pump, past water damage and its cause |
| Plumbing and water source | Leaks, pipe material if known, public water or a private well, well tests |
| Sewer | Public sewer or septic, septic inspections and pumping, backups |
| Electrical | Known problems, panel work, aluminum wiring if known |
| Heating and cooling | Age, condition, known defects, service history |
| Appliances included | Which ones, and whether they work |
| Environmental | Radon tests and results, lead-based paint for older homes, asbestos, underground tanks, mold |
| Pests | Termites or wood-destroying insects, treatments, warranties |
| Additions and repairs | Work done, whether permits were pulled and closed, who did it |
| Legal and parcel | Easements, encroachments, boundary disputes, HOA and its rules and dues, flood zone, insurance claims, lawsuits, notices from a government body |
A house on a well or a septic system usually gets its own set of questions and, in some places, its own required inspection. Older houses usually carry a separate lead-based paint disclosure and the EPA pamphlet; the EPA's lead guidance says homes built before 1978 are likely to contain lead-based paint, which is why that year appears on the forms. A radon test result you have on file, from testing the house yourself, belongs in the environmental section with the number and the date.
What does "known" mean, and what should you do when unsure?
"Known" means what you actually know from living in the house, from documents you have, and from what you have been told by inspectors and contractors; in most states it does not mean what you could have found by investigating. When you are unsure, the honest answer is "unknown," and when you are torn about whether something counts, disclose it. A disclosed condition is a negotiation. An undisclosed one that the buyer finds later is a dispute.
Our rule: if you have ever discussed it with a contractor, an inspector, an insurer, or a neighbor, it is known, and it goes on the form. Write the fact, the date, what was done, and attach the paper. A yes with an explanation and a receipt reads far better to a buyer than a no that an inspector contradicts a week later.
Repaired problems are the usual gray area. A basement that took water once, before you fixed the grading and added a downspout extension, is typically disclosed as a past water event with the repair noted. The repair is the reassuring part; leaving out the event because it is fixed is how sellers get into trouble. The pre-listing repairs post covers what to fix and what to price in; either way, the history stays on the form.
How does the record make the form easier?
The record makes the form easier because most of its questions are questions about dates, causes, and receipts: when the roof was repaired and by whom, what the radon test read, whether the deck was permitted, what the septic pumper found. A seller with a maintenance log and a document folder answers from the log. A seller without one answers from memory, which is where "I think it was fine" comes from, and that phrase is not an answer.
Work backward through the house: for each system, the record should yield an install or replacement date, the service history, and any repair with its cause. For the parcel, the closing folder holds the survey, the title work, the HOA documents, and the flood determination. The closing-day documents explains what each of those is. Anything the record cannot answer is an honest "unknown," and the honest unknowns are far fewer when the record exists.
In Property Station, the repair history and the Maintenance Log carry the dates and the "Completed By", the Document Vault holds the receipts, permits, inspection reports, and test results by type, and the Home Snapshot prints the one-page version you can hand to your agent while filling out the form.
When the sale closes, the same folder is what transfers to the buyer, so the disclosure and the handoff are the same work done once.
How does the disclosure interact with the inspection?
The disclosure is what the seller knows; the inspection is what a third party finds; a buyer reads them side by side. Where the inspection confirms the disclosure, the buyer trusts the seller and the negotiation is short. Where the inspection finds something the disclosure did not mention, the buyer wonders what else was left out, and every other answer gets a second look. Filling the form out completely is the cheapest way to make the inspection a formality.
Sellers who get a pre-listing inspection close that gap in advance: the findings become known, the ones worth fixing get fixed, and the rest go on the form with the report attached. For the buyer's side of the same conversation, negotiating repairs after the inspection explains what a buyer will ask for and why a disclosed item is rarely one of them.
Common questions
Do I have to disclose a problem I already fixed?
In most states, yes, as a past problem with the repair noted. A roof leak repaired by a roofer with a receipt is disclosed as exactly that. The form usually asks whether there has ever been a problem, not only whether there is one now, and the repair is the good half of the answer.
What if I honestly do not know the answer to a question?
The forms generally allow "unknown" or "no knowledge," and that is the honest answer when it is true. Do not guess "no" to look better. If the question is about something you could easily check, such as whether the water heater leaks, check it and answer from what you see.
Does a disclosure protect me from claims after the sale?
It helps, because a buyer who was told about a condition in writing has a hard time claiming it was hidden. It does not protect a seller who left something out. The protection comes from completeness, and from the receipts and reports that show what you knew and what you did. Ask your agent or an attorney about the rules in your state.
Is the disclosure the same as an inspection?
No. The disclosure is what the seller knows. The inspection is what a trained third party finds. A buyer uses both, and a house where the two agree is a house that sells without drama. Where they disagree, the difference is what gets negotiated.
What should you do next?
Get the form for your state from your agent now, months before listing, and read it against the record. Every question you cannot answer from a document is either a fact to look up or an honest unknown. Then read how a complete record changes the sale, because the disclosure is only the first place a buyer will ask.