On the House: On disclosure, and homes that languish on market

By Alan J. Heavens, Inquirer Real Estate Writer

Lately, I have been going back to two things our listing agent drummed into my head when we were selling our last house.

Disclose, disclose, disclose was one. The other: work with the agent, not against him or her, and that will help sell the house for a good price.

There is a real estate disclosure law in Pennsylvania that spells out exactly what a seller must do to comply. Real estate agents are obligated to assist sellers in completing the form, and prospective buyers and their agents get copies.

New Jersey has no required disclosures that sellers must make. However, the courts have approved exceptions to common law designed to protect buyers against sellers who fail to disclose material facts or who hide information about their properties.

I mention disclosure first because of the July 21 decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upholding a lower-court ruling that failure to disclose a murder/suicide to the buyer of a house in Thornbury, Delaware County, did not violate the law.

Read full article here:http://articles.philly.com/2014-09-07/real_estate/53657481_1_buyer-agent-disclosure

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