Seller’s Disclosure
There are also various versions of “Seller Disclosure” statements used by estate agents when selling a house. The Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) prepared one of the disclosure forms. Another by a prominent firm of conveyancing attorneys. Some “Offer To Purchase” contracts include the seller’s disclosure at the back of the contract. None does much to make the average property transaction fairer for the buyer.
These disclosure statements often don’t provide the buyer with comprehensive information on the property’s condition. Such agreements shift responsibility away from the estate agent and onto the seller.
Estate agents use these seller disclosure statements to get the seller to disclose, to the best of his belief and knowledge, problems in the house for sale. However, what the seller “believes” and what is true are sometimes very different. The average seller (or agent) is not qualified to evaluate the true physical condition of the house. In all probability, neither has likely ever climbed into or onto the roof.
Home Inspection
More than 40% of houses inspected in South Africa have faulty, and often unsafe, hot water geyser installations. Often, the roof covering or roof structure is deteriorating. Sometimes the foundations subside because of poor groundwater management, trees, or unstable soils. The cracks the seller has filled and painted over often open again after the buyer moves in. There are numerous causes for dampness and wall and slab cracks. Often, sellers are not truthful in the seller disclosure and do not disclose the defects or issues they are aware of! The sellers are sometimes not even aware of the problem or potential problem.
The Consumer Protection Act and Seller Disclosures
Seller’s disclosures are mostly attempts to help estate agents escape the potential wrath of the Consumer Commissioner. Estate agents are liable under the CPA for the information they supply buyers. Furthermore, the seller continues to take refuge behind the voetstoots clause.
This shameful situation continues to exist in the second-hand South African house market. As a result, the agent is protected by the seller’s disclosure. The private seller is protected by the voetstoots clause, and the buyer is left unprotected.
More than 77 % of sellers’ houses are now professionally inspected pre-sale in the United States and Canada. In South Africa, the figure is less than 1 %. As a result, the South African home buyer is an unprotected consumer – unaware of his predicament.
Home inspections pre-sale are the only solution. Industry professionals, mortgage lenders (banks), and lawmakers need to make this standard practice.
Finally, if you’ve had a bad experience with a seller’s disclosure or have bought the property without a disclosure, please comment or post!
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