Pursuant to Texas Property Code 5.008, sellers of residential real estate shall deliver a
Seller’s Disclosure Notice to the buyer containing the minimum disclosures of the seller’s knowledge of the condition of the property. When you are considering purchasing a Spring Texas home, a sellers disclosure is a good source of information to learn about the condition of the home. If you want to know if the home had a previous fire, previous roof repairs, is located in the 100-year Floodplain, or had water penetration just look on the sellers disclosure for the answer.
But does the sellers disclosure give you everything you would like to know about that Spring Texas home? Probably Not. For there are some questions you will need to do a little sleuthing on your own to find the answers. Including ….
1. Carpet Spots – The sellers may know the carpet looks terrible in certain spots and if you think the furniture placement is a little odd or there are throw rugs in unusual locations lift up the rugs and inspect the carpet underneath. Sellers are not required and are not willingly going to point out the make-up stain made by their teenage daughter that just never came out.
2. Dogs– Are the neighbors dogs going to bark every time you go into the backyard? The sellers disclosure does not provides an answer to this question. So don’t just look out the windows at the backyard. Go out into the yard and walk around to get the answer to your dog question.
3. Planes, Trains, & Trash Trucks – If you are a light sleeper, you would want to know if the noise from planes, trains, or trash trucks is going to keep you from getting a good night’s sleep. Again, no help from the sellers disclosure. Do a little sleuthing on your own for these answers by identifying the closest train tracks and airport. You can also give the trash service company a call and find out the time of day they service the subdivision.
4. Neighbors – Sorry home buyers, the sellers disclosure will give you no insight into what the sellers know about their neighbors. Too bad because I know some questions I would like answered about the neighbors such as …
- does the neighbor’s son practice day and night because he aspires to be a drummer in a heavy metal rock band.
- do the neighbor’s with the pool host frequent pool parties that continue into the wee hours of the morning.
- do the neighborhood pets enjoy doing their business in the sellers yard more than their own yards.
Just remember although a sellers disclosure does provide a lot of good information it certainly does not provide everything worth knowing about a home. As a Spring Texas home buyer, you may need to do a little sleuthing on your own to get your real questions answered.
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