The first thing is obvious - the seller should have disclosed the fire. Many sellers are now making the disclosure statement available before a buyer even makes an offer. I recommend this for a few reasons:
- Buyers feel you have nothing to hide;
- Buyers can make a more informed offer, hopefully eliminating the need to re-negotiate after acceptance, or worse, cancellation based on items in the disclosure.
If the seller had provided a CLUE report along with the disclosure statement there would not have been an issue of a 'hidden' element about the home.
So, you may be wondering how this affected the seller. Had the seller in my true case story been up front about the fire, my buyer may not have re-negotiated the deal which would have resulted in a higher net profit. Also, at closing we discovered the seller really wanted to lease back the property since my buyer was an investor. Because the seller did not disclose the fire they didn't trust the seller as a tenant.
Bottom line is this: seller lost net profit on his property and had to find a new place to lease at the last moment. (There's another story in here which I'm sure you can see the start of, but it doesn't involve the CLUE report so I'll stay on topic.)
There are many options available to obtain a CLUE report (or letter of insurability). I suggest talking with your insurance agent or try ChoiceTrust.com. If you should have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me! If you are interested in buying or selling real estate, I'd love to help!
Tina Faust, GRI
RE/MAX Champions
425-374-2728
http://www.tinafaust.com/
Tina@TinaFaust.com
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