Under federal law, which statement best describes a seller's obligation to disclose known material defects?
Correct Answer
D) Only lead paint disclosure; all other disclosures come from state law
Federal law imposes a single seller condition disclosure. For target housing built before 1978, 42 U.S.C. 4852d requires the seller to disclose known lead-based paint and hazards, deliver the EPA pamphlet, and allow the buyer a 10-day period to inspect. Everything else a candidate thinks of as the seller's disclosure, including structural defects, water intrusion, past repairs, and neighborhood conditions, comes from state statute or case law and varies widely from one state to the next. The federal duty is narrow and the state duty does the heavy lifting.
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Many states and localities have fair housing laws that expand upon the protections offered by the federal Fair Housing Act.
A stigmatized property is one that has an undesirable reputation due to events that occurred on the property or nearby, such as a murder, suicide, alleged haunting, or proximity to a registered sex offender. The stigma is psychological, not physical.
An as-is clause in a real estate contract states that the buyer accepts the property in its current condition without requiring the seller to make any repairs. However, an as-is sale does NOT eliminate the seller's obligation to disclose known defects.
More Property Disclosures Questions
A seller who fails to provide required disclosures may be liable for:
HOA disclosure requirements typically include:
Potential buyers lose interest in a house because local media repeatedly called it haunted even though inspections reveal no physical problem. What issue is this?
A seller knows that a prior occupant died peacefully in the home several years ago, and there is no physical defect. Which special disclosure issue is presented?
The doctrine of 'caveat emptor' (buyer beware) has been largely replaced by:
- → In a state that requires a written disclosure of a home's condition to the buyer, the disclosure form is filled out by:
- → Under TRID, the Loan Estimate replaced which older disclosure form that was previously provided to borrowers early in the loan process?
- → The Closing Disclosure must be received by the borrower at least three business days before closing. If closing is scheduled for Friday and no federal holiday falls during that week, when is the latest the borrower can receive the Closing Disclosure?
- → The Closing Disclosure replaced which two older disclosure forms that were previously used in residential mortgage transactions?
- → Under TRID, all of the following are included on Page 1 of the Loan Estimate EXCEPT.
- → A borrower compares the Loan Estimate with the Closing Disclosure and sees that government recording fees rose from $350 to $400. Under the TRID tolerance rules, is that increase permitted?
- → A borrower receives a Loan Estimate and notices that the estimated title insurance fee is $1,200. At closing, the Closing Disclosure shows the title insurance fee is $1,400. The borrower was allowed to shop for title insurance from a list provided by the lender. Under TRID tolerance rules, is this increase permissible?
- → A lender's origination charge on the Loan Estimate is $2,000. At closing, the origination charge on the Closing Disclosure is $2,300. Under TRID, what must the lender do?
- → A borrower submits a mortgage loan application on Monday. Under TRID, by when must the lender provide the Loan Estimate?
- → The Closing Disclosure includes a section showing how much total interest the borrower will pay over the life of the loan. A borrower sees that for a $300,000 30-year fixed-rate loan at 6.5 percent, the total interest exceeds $382,000. What purpose does this disclosure serve?
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