Tennessee property condition disclosure (Chattanooga: real estate, lawyer, house)

[bluebird5]

I am selling my house by owner and have picked up a contract from my title company. One of the things in the contracts are the seller disclosures. I really don't want to get involved in disclosures. Does this form have to be filled out to close the sell of the property or can I opt out of it?

[DonCorleone]

It is a state law that the disclosure must be provided and be truthful and accurate to the best of the seller's knowledge.

Here's a helpful PDF that discusses the disclosure, the law, and the very limited exceptions.

[Mi shots]

We sold our home FSBO and didn't have a disclosure. One of the benefits of selling FSBO is all info is exchanged and addressed face to face.
You might want to add certain details to contract (so there is no loose holes).
Good luck

[moving123]

If you are living in the house at the time of sale, it is state law that the disclosure must be filled out by the buyer and signed by both buyer and seller.

[fuzzy615]

and dont lie on it. You will open yourself up for all sorts of litigation

[groovamos]

My brother ran into a fiasco over this in Chattanooga. He and wife bought a large house there in Aug '12, was not in a hurry to leave Gwinnett co GA so they rented to the sellers until Jan '13. In Sept '13 the septic system he didn't know he had failed, and the disclosure stated that the house was on city sewer and he actually had been billed every month for sewer. The cost to hook him up to the system was tremendous and they lost a lost of landscaping. So he got a lawyer and they sued the previous owners for the loss, based on the disclosure. The lawyer didn't know that state law there establishes a one year time frame for seller liability starting at closing date, not at the date of taking possession as he erroneously thought. They got to court and the suit was immediately dismissed for being outside the statutory time limit.

[JJAF]

When I was at an open house this past weekend, I asked for disclosures/to see the disclosure report from the listing agent who was staffing the open house. He said that the owners had not lived in the house for 3 years (they rented to their son) and they were not required to fill out a disclosure report. I haven't researched this yet, but that was his answer to me.

[Trigger Finger]

Originally Posted by JJAF

When I was at an open house this past weekend, I asked for disclosures/to see the disclosure report from the listing agent who was staffing the open house. He said that the owners had not lived in the house for 3 years (they rented to their son) and they were not required to fill out a disclosure report. I haven't researched this yet, but that was his answer to me.

This is actually true, although it is pretty convenient that they had not lived there for the exact minimum amount of time that would not require them to fill out a disclosure.

OP, whether or not you use a real estate agent, you are required to fill out a disclosure form in Tennessee. There are a few exceptions, but it doesn't sound like they apply to you.