(CHEROKEE LAKE REALTY WRITES A WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE GRAINGER COUNTY JOURNAL NEWSPAPER. THIS WAS A RECENT QUESTION ASKED BY A READER.)
I am assuming you mean problems with your home? In Tennessee there is a form that needs to be filled out by the seller which discloses potential issues and/or problems with your home. It is called the Tennessee Residential Property Condition Disclosure. Your real estate agent can provide this form and assist you with any question you may have.
In the form the seller must list items included with the home. Such as kitchen appliances, washer and dryers, heat pump, fireplace, a well, septic system and so forth. Then you must disclose if there are any defects or malfunctions with the items. If you are on a septic system, you cannot advertise your home for more bedrooms than what the septic system has been approved for. You must disclose the age of your roof and if there are any issues. You must disclose if there are any environmental hazards such as radon, lead, and asbestos with the property. Sellers must also disclose all known material defects and must answer the questions on the Disclosure form in good faith to the best of the seller’s knowledge as of the Disclosure date. As examples, material defects with windows, doors, floors, ceilings, electrical systems, foundation, driveway, sidewalks, etc., must be disclosed. Keep in mind, you are required to sign this form and attest to its truthfulness or expose yourself to legal consequences. Remedies for misrepresentations or nondisclosure in a Property Condition Disclosure statement may be available to a buyer and are set out fully in Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-5-208. In other words, make sure you take this seriously.
The Disclosure form is meant to protect you and the buyer. If you disclose the windows are not working properly, the buyer can’t come back and claim you misled them. Inversely, if you do not disclose this, then an issue may arise. So, protect yourself, make sure the buyer receives the Disclosure form, filled out and signed by you. They need to sign the form as well, and you keep a copy. The Disclosure form is not meant to be a substitute for any inspection. The buyer still has the right to hire an inspector during their due diligence period.
Interestingly there are some facts that do not need to be disclosed. You are not required to disclose if any occupant of the home was HIV-positive, or had any other disease not likely to be transmitted by occupying the home, or whether the home had been the site of a homicide, suicide, felony, or act or occurrence which had no effect on the physical structure of the property. And, get this, you are not required to disclose if a home is considered haunted or has the reputation for being haunted. Yep. So, there is no need to tell them about Beetlejuice.
