Meticulous Record Keeping = Meticulous Maintenance?
One of the first questions on the standard Minnesota Seller Disclosure asks whether the owner is in possession of the previous owner’s Seller Disclosure, and if so, whether it’s attached.
As a Buyer’s agent, I always like to see the previous Seller’s Disclosure, for two reasons:
One. It provides a more complete picture of the home’s condition, especially if the current owner has been in the house a relatively short time (less than 3-4 years).
When that’s the case, it’s possible that the current owner has never had a problem with such Minnesota bugaboos as a wet basement or ice dams — but that those things have arisen in the past.**
Two. Evidence of the current Seller’s mindset.
Of course, to have kept the previous Seller’s Disclosure for a few years presupposes a certain, threshold level of organization if not meticulousness.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the same owners who are organized record keepers also tend to be meticulous about such things as home maintenance . . .
**If the new Buyer encounters a problem, post-closing, that predates the Seller’s ownership, the Seller is protected from liability if they provided the previous owner’s Disclosure, and the problem was disclosed there.
See also, “Home Sellers Who Provide the PREVIOUS Seller’s Disclosure”; and “Seller’s Seller’s Disclosure.“
