To help IAR members avoid problems when representing sellers, Jeffrey T. Baker, Sorling Northrup Attorneys, and IAR Transaction Helpline Attorney, offers two tips regarding completion of the Residential Real Property Disclosure Report.

In the January issue of D.R. Legal News, Baker begins by reminding that the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act requires sellers to provide these disclosure reports in residential real estate transfers, including: transfers by sale, exchange or installment land sales. But he says sellers should take extra caution when reviewing and before signing these reports.

No. 1, Baker says the Report is a legal document and thus sellers should consult legal counsel before completing the form. Real estate brokers should not provide advice on whether the report is required, how it should be completed, or who should sign it.

No. 2, he says the investor-sellers exemption is rarely applicable despite the seller never having lived in the home. Investor-sellers may be exempt from signing reports only when they meet both of the following conditions: (1) they’ve never occupied the house and (2) they never possessed or delegated management responsibility for the property.

Read more about Residential Real Property Disclosure Reports and more in the January D.R. Legal News.