Disclosures of Problems with Property in Residential Sales
The Iowa Court of Appeals recently issued a ruling that should be a reminder to those trying to sell a house in Iowa. The evidence presented at trial indicated that the seller of a home had previous history of water standing on the lawn after rains. The seller had provided a seller's disclosure statement, pursuant to Iowa law, which requires a potential seller to list and disclose any potential problems, including "physical problems such as: settling, flooding, drainage, or grading problems" but failed to indicate the standing water problem. The Court indicated that the standard is not whether the seller believes that a characteristic is a problem, but whether the grading/drainage is a condition and important characteristic of the property. Accordingly, the Court found that the seller improperly failed to disclose the condition of the property to the buyer.
For anyone looking to sell their property on their own, this is a reinforced reminder to disclose anything and everything to a potential buyer. Whether the seller believes that it is a problem does not matter. My advice to any of my clients selling property is to do disclose everything. Being subject to a lawsuit from a disgruntled purchaser is not a pleasant experience to go through. The safer course of action is to disclose any potential important conditions of the property so that a buyer is put on notice.
