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In Massachusetts and New Hampshire agents can make
available for Sellers, to fill out, what is called a Seller's
Statement of Property Condition (MA), or Property Disclosure (NH).
These forms, if filled out by the Seller, can be of great help to
potential buyers in their understanding of any property they are
interested in purchasing.
In both instances the filling out of these
disclosures is not mandatory. However, should you elect to
fill them out, the buyer, once they have acknowledged that they
have read the applicable disclosure, would be hard pressed
to come back to you and stating they never knew of a particular
issue if the issue in question had been disclosed in your
Disclosure Statement, for example, water had penetrated the
basement, if in fact this was disclosed properly.
Lead paint is another form that is made available
from Sellers to Buyers. This particular form is mandatory
for any property being sold and built before 1978. Briefly, any
property that was constructed prior to 1978 could possibly contain
levels of lead paint that could be potentially harmful to children
6 years of age and younger. Because ingestion of lead via paint, or
inhaling lead dust is a health concern, a Seller has to let the
potential buyer know what they do or do not know about lead paint
being present in their house. The buyer always has the ability to
have a property tested for lead paint as part of their home
inspection.
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