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 The State of Michigan requires a home seller to
disclose known problems and
facts that
materially affect the
value or desirability of
the property being sold.
The seller is required to disclose everything
that may
be of concern to a potential buyer.
This includes shared fences or driveways,
easements, parking situations, environmental issues, and the physical condition of the
home’s structure, appliances and various
systems. Even if the seller has
resolved the
problem, such as re-shingling the
home to cure a
leak in
the roof,
it must be disclosed.
The seller is not
required to “guess.” If he doesn’t know the age
of the furnace, he should simply state that he
doesn’t know. This is common in the sale of an
estate property where the seller may have never
lived in the home.
The seller is not
expected to have expertise in the building
trades, construction,
engineering, or architecture
and is not required
to have inspected inaccessible areas such as the
roof or foundation. However, the seller must
disclose all that he is aware of, through
knowledge or observation.
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IMPORTANT:
The seller's disclosure statement is not a
warranty of any kind and is not
a substitute for
a
home inspection. |
 Lead-based
paint
Houses built before 1978
are likely to have have
paint containing lead. Lead-based paint in good
condition is usually not a problem. However, as
paint ages it peels, chips, cracks, and develops
a chalk-like coating. Constant exposure to
sunlight accelerates the aging process making
exterior surfaces and window sills especially
vulnerable.
Disturbing the paint's
surface will cause lead contaminated dust to
become a part of your living environment. A
person can get lead in their body simply by
breathing or swallowing the dust created by
vacuuming, sweeping, or dusting.
Lead in the human
body can cause high blood pressure, headaches, damage to the brain and nervous
system, hyperactivity, slowed growth, digestive problems, and hearing
problems. Lead is more dangerous to
children because babies and young children put
their hands and other objects in their mouths.
Law requires
sellers to provide a disclosure indicating
whether or not they have knowledge of the
presence of lead-based paint in their home. Most
sellers have no idea, since the lead-based paint
has often been thoroughly recoated with
lead-free paint and in no longer a problem.
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