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Seller's Disclosure Act of 1993
Instructor: John Henderson JT@grar.com
0:43 Minutes
Module 1 Lesson 2 – Seller’s Responsibilities
A seller is not liable for any error, inaccuracy or omission in the Seller Disclosure provided:
Information was not within their personal knowledge.
Information was provided by public agencies.
Information could only be obtained through inspection of inaccessible areas.
Information could only be obtained by a person with expertise in a science or trade beyond the knowledge of the seller.
A seller must:
Exercise ordinary care to transmit information accurately.
Deliver information provided by a public agency.
Deliver information provided by a licensed expert in matters pertaining to their field of expertise.
Provide information that is known to the seller to be contradictory to any information provided by public agencies or licensed professionals.
A seller may:
Update a disclosure that becomes inaccurate.
Advise a buyer that any required item on the disclosure is unknown to the seller provided the statement is based on the best information available.
565.955 Liability for error, inaccuracy, or omission; delivery as compliance with requirements of act; conditions.
Sec. 5.
(1) The transferor or his or her agent is not liable for any error, inaccuracy, or omission in any information delivered pursuant to this act if the error, inaccuracy, or omission was not within the personal knowledge of the transferor, or was based entirely on information provided by public agencies or provided by other persons specified in subsection (3), and ordinary care was exercised in transmitting the information. It is not a violation of this act if the transferor fails to disclose information that could be obtained only through inspection or observation of inaccessible portions of real estate or could be discovered only by a person with expertise in a science or trade beyond the knowledge of the transferor.
(2) The delivery of any information required by this act to be disclosed to a prospective transferee by a public agency or other person specified in subsection (3) shall be considered to comply with the requirements of this act and relieves the transferor of any further duty under this act with respect to that item of information, unless the transferor has knowledge of a known defect or condition that contradicts the information provided by the public agency or the person specified in subsection (3).
(3) The delivery of a report or opinion prepared by a licensed professional engineer, professional surveyor, geologist, structural pest control operator, contractor, or other expert, dealing with matters within the scope of the professional's license or expertise, is sufficient compliance for application of the exemption provided by subsection (1) if the information is provided upon the request of the prospective transferee, unless the transferor has knowledge of a known defect or condition that contradicts the information contained in the report or opinion. In responding to a request by a prospective transferee, an expert may indicate, in writing, an understanding that the information provided will be used in fulfilling the requirements of section 7 and, if so, shall indicate the required disclosures, or parts of disclosures, to which the information being furnished applies. In furnishing the statement, the expert is not responsible for any items of information other than those expressly set forth in the statement.
565.956 Disclosures; inaccuracy as result of action, occurrence, or agreement after delivery; unknown or unavailable information; basis.
Sec. 6.
If information disclosed in accordance with this act becomes inaccurate as a result of any action, occurrence, or agreement after the delivery of the required disclosures, the resulting inaccuracy does not constitute a violation of this act. If at the time the disclosures are required to be made, an item of information required to be disclosed under this act is unknown or unavailable to the transferor, the transferor may comply with this act by advising a prospective purchaser of the fact that the information is unknown. The information provided to a prospective purchaser pursuant to this act shall be based upon the best information available and known to the transferor.