Seller Disclosure overhaul

The Seller Disclosure Law and the property disclosure statement, also known as PAR Form SPD, generate most of the questions to the legal hotline, and it’s no wonder why!

Disclosure requirements not only come from the Seller Disclosure Law itself, but duties exist in the common law, the State Real Estate Commission regulations and your Realtor® Code of Ethics. The potential for liability abounds and, as always, PAR wants to make sure that we are providing you with the best risk management tools.

Recently, several member volunteers met at PAR headquarters to review common questions and figure out if PAR’s seller’s property disclosure statement needs a remake. A task force, led by Pat Moyer of the Suburban West Realtors® Association, has begun working its way through the form, while trying to strike a balance between information a seller should disclose and a buyer’s obligation to perform due diligence.

All suggested changes to the forms library will go from the task force to the Standard Forms Feedback Panel as early as June. If you have any ideas or suggestions you would like to make to the task force, please send email me.