What Do I Have to Disclose When Selling My Home?

Selling a home is an exciting process that signals a new beginning, but it’s also a process that has many legal requirements and requires a lot of work to complete. If you’re listing your home for sale, it’s important to work with a qualified real estate agent who can help you to prepare your house, list your home, understand your home’s value, navigate the contract and closing processes, and more. One way in which a realtor can be especially valuable is in guiding you through your disclosure requirements. Here’s what you should know about what you have to disclose when selling a home in Indiana–

What Do I Have to Disclose When Selling an Indiana Home?

When you are selling a home in Indiana, you are required to fill out the seller’s disclosure form, per Indiana law. The seller’s disclosure form contains various questions about different parts of the home, including the appliances; the seller is required to reveal any known defects. For example, the disclosure form will ask about the foundation, the roof, the garbage disposal, etc. If the seller knows of any materials defects or problems, they are legally obligated to answer honestly without misrepresenting anything. 

What Do I Not Have to Disclose?

One important thing to know about the disclosure requirement in Indiana is that it only requires that you disclose known defects; if a defect is unknown, you do not have to disclose it because you do not know about it. Further, as the seller, the burden is not on you to conduct an inspection; the burden lies on the buyer. As such, if a defect exists of which you are unaware, you cannot be held responsible for disclosing this defect. 

Additionally, you only need to disclose physical defects about the property; you are not required to disclose anything that may “psychologically” affect the property. For example, you are not required to disclose whether someone died on the property or if the property was the site of a crime. 

When In Doubt, Work with a Professional

Making a faux pas when it comes to disclosure requirements could be costly, and could lead to the buy-sell contract falling through, or even result in civil litigation and civil penalties in some cases. If you’re in doubt about what you have to disclose, you should work with a professional who can ensure that you are meeting legal requirements and improving the chances of the sale going through. At The Jana Caudill Team, we are ready to start working with you. Call our experienced real estate agents directly today to learn more about how we can help.