California Home Sellers Need to Provide These Disclosure Statements and Reports to Buyers

I started selling real estate in 1989. While I am retired from actively serving buyers and sellers, I still maintain a California broker’s license. In the many years that I sold real estate, one thing that was most important to me was that sellers disclose everything they believe to be true about the house they are selling. I would ask sellers to think about and disclose any issue that, potentially, could affect the new homeowner’s peaceful enjoyment of the house. This could mean letting buyers know about noisy neighbors, barking dogs, and anything that could be perceived as a nuisance to the new owner.

The information provided applies to California state properties. The reader must investigate or ask a local real estate agent to provide reliable information about disclosure laws in the appropriate state of interest.

While the author believes the California information is reliable, the reader is encouraged to consult with his or her own real estate agent for verification.

I had a client who had a two-story house with one bathroom upstairs and a bathroom downstairs. This configuration requires a plumbing system that connects the upper bathroom and lower bathrooms to the sewage systems. Because of an earthquake, the homeowner inspected underneath the house for any damage and discovered that the sewage pipe from the upper bathroom to the lower bathroom had cracked and leaked some sewage. The homeowner repaired the cracked pipe using some elastic sealing tape. Even though this took care of the problem, I advised the homeowner to disclose the repair, because a buyer would want to know this. The pipe may need to be replaced in the future. A buyer with this kind of knowledge would be in a better position to understand the situation and do a proper procedure on any future repairs.

California is one of the most litigious states known in the 50 contiguous states. It is no wonder that California has extremely stringent disclosure requirements. Knowing your rights and the rights of others may avoid, or at minimum, reduce the negative impact of a lawsuit.

In California, there are 25+ disclosure requirements that are typical for most 1 to 4 unit, single family sales transactions. Before selling a house, the seller is required to disclose material facts about the house. This means that everything the seller knows about the house’s structure and neighborhood should be disclosed to the buyer.

Some sellers, such as executors of deceased owners, are exempt from providing disclosure statements. Since it is likely executors have not lived in the house, it is presumed executors do not have knowledge of the house's condition. Still, it is wise to inform buyers of any facts known about the house.

The following table is a list of California disclosure requirements.

Although reliable, this list of documents is not all-inclusive. Every real estate sales transaction requires a unique set of documents that are specific to that particular transaction as it relates to that particular buyer and seller on the date and time of execution.

Sellers should seek the advice of a competent real estate advisor or real estate attorney to assure they fulfill their disclosure obligations.

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