Seller Disclosure Content Index - Page 1

When a home seller sells a property the seller must disclose hidden facts. Seller disclosure can include previous damage, homeowners association fees, or any number of other things. Look here for more information about what is required in seller disclosure.

**Why Buy Title Insurance On a House When You Pay Cash For the Home** If you are making the largest investment of your life, wouldn't you want to make sure you are protected by obtaining and buying title insurance? When you buy title insurance on a house, a title company gives you certain guarantees that you are the rightful owner of the home and certain other title protections. Title insurance does not protect you against future title problems that might develop nor does it protect you from fire or other casualties. But if you are paying cash to a seller are you certain the seller will give you good title to the home?

Seller disclosure is required in most states, meaning a seller has to reveal any defects or problems with the house to a buyer. However, the seller disclosure laws and requirements vary greatly from state to state. If a buyer discovers problems with the home that they think were not revealed through seller disclosure, they should evaluate the money, time and effort it will take to fix the problem. Often it's a simple fix to the house, but the seller disclosure lawsuit can leave you with a lot of legal fees.

If you put down earnest money or a down payment on a home and you have a seller disclosure issue, you better make sure you have a way to get out of the contract. If the seller disclosure form failed to disclose mold in a home, and you signed a contract to buy the home, you should have the right to also inspect the home to make sure you want to move forward in the deal. If as a buyer, you don't understand issues like contracts, earnest money, seller disclosure and home inspections, you might want to reconsider buying a house or hiring a real estate attorney and a home inspector before signing a contract to buy a home.

Seller disclosure laws have developed to assist buyers in their home buying quest and to keep seller's honest. Seller disclosure laws require a seller to disclose to the buyers all know material defects in the home. A seller is not required to disclose everything about a home, just material problems known to the seller. If you are buying a home in foreclosure, your seller -- the bank -- may not give you any disclosure and it will be up to you to make sure you perform a good home inspection to protect yourself. Seller disclosure laws do not replace a home inspection and a good home inspector. The best real estate advice you can get is to read the seller disclosure form carefully and perform a thorough home inspection of the home.

**Seller and Buyer Closing Costs State By State** Seller and buyer closing costs are usually a mystery, and we frequently receive emails asking us to give sellers more information on who generally gets to pay for survey and title insurance expenses. So, we prepared a list of two of the most popular closing costs paid by sellers and buyers on a state by state basis: title insurance for the owner's title insurance policy and survey costs. There are so many closing costs to deal with, but these two costs are usually not thought about by a home buyer or a home seller.

What is the purpose of a title company? To avoid title insurance problems and issues. A title company's responsibility is to search the public records and inform the prospective homeowner about any issues and problems that affect the title of a property they intend on buying.

In its 2008 survey of mortgage fraud, the FBI concluded there is a strong correlation between mortgage fraud and distressed real estate markets. Indeed, some of the states with the highest levels of mortgage fraud also had the highest levels of foreclosures. But new mortgage fraud scams emerged in 2008 that tested the abilities of the FBI to contain them. Here is a look at the newest mortgage fraud scams.

The homebuying process is full of surprises. Some homebuyers will find out that a home they are looking to buy has title defects, construction defects or, as in the case of this reader, the home to be purchased belongs to a homeowner's association. When a buyer is faced with these surprises, the buyer may see if a cancellation of the contract is possible. In some cases cancelling the contract is specifically permitted under the contract but in other cases the attempt to cancel the contract may lead to litigation.

In the new world of real estate there are many changes to keep track of, but there are also some key parts to the home buying process that haven’t changed. Real estate agents are still a good deal for home buyers. You’ll get the best home loan rates and save money if you shop around. Home repair and maintenance will always be a big expense for homeowners. And location, location, location is one of the most important things to look at when buying a home.

What can you do when you need to sell your home fast? If you aren't using a real estate agent, you'll need to use grass roots marketing to gun the home sale process. For starters, you will need to talk to your neighbors, real estate agents and real estate brokers that work in the community. And, don't forget, to use the resources available on the internet.