DID HURRICANE IRENE DO DAMAGE TO THE HOME YOU ARE SELLING?

So you have your property listed for sale and then came Hurricane Irene...now you have water in the basement or tree damage to your garage roof...what now? 

It is now time to call your agent and update your Seller's Property Disclosure.  Although requirements are different from state to state, most states do require sellers of real estate to disclose some facts about a property they are selling. 

Sellers Property Disclosure - A statement of facts made by the seller about the condition of a property being sold 

 
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Property disclosures originally became a requirement to protect buyers, but it has turned out they have often protected the seller.  For example - A buyer purchases a home where the seller disclosed there had been water in the basement after storms.  Several months later after a summer storm, the buyer ends up with water in the basement.  They call their agent insisting that they were never told of a water problem and that they plan to sue the sellers and agent.  In this case the agent or agents involved could pull the property disclosure from the file.  In most states both buyer and seller are required to sign this document.  If the document is produced and does in face state there had been water in the basement, the seller has some protection that they would have not had without that written document!

As you can see, making disclosure of required items up front could be a benefit to you as a seller.  Do you need to update your disclosures?  Call your agent to see what disclosures are required in your state!