Inspections & Disclosures

There are literally hundreds of disclosure forms and inspections that can be used when buying and selling real estate in Florida. This page will familiarize you with some of the most common and frequently used disclosures and inspections in Florida Real Estate.

Seller's Property Disclosure

Seller Property Disclosure or SPD is a very commonly used form and Realnet recommends it is used on every real estate transaction in Florida. This form covers 12 of the major items of look into for any piece of real estate. The Seller Property Disclosure form is a way for sellers to tell buyers about detailed condition of important items in the house. The seller property disclosure is valuable because it will ask the seller lots of questions and help the seller to think about items that may have been previously fixed. this disclosure helps the buyer understand how many repairs were made to the home over the years.

Lead Based Paint Disclosure

Lead based paint disclosures are important in Florida Real estate and they are used when a home was built prior to 1978. According the the EPA’s pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, paint that was manufactured prior to 1978 may cause lead poisoning in your home. The Lead Based Paint Disclosure details the possible dangers of Lead Based Paint.  Download the Lead Based Paint Pamphlet below.

Sinkhole

Sinkhole disclosures have become much more common in Florida and it is a good idea to include this disclosure on any transaction! In Florida, homes are built on sandy/clay soil and are not built very high up off the water table.

This is an excellent recipe for sinkholes to form. While most sinkholes cause very minor, if any damage, you have probably seen on the tv news reports just how much damage a sinkhole can cause! Realnet recommends including a Sinkhole

Disclosure on every real estate transaction. The best option is for Seller’s to share any information they have on sinkholes, ground settlement, cracking, or damage with potential buyers.

Chinese Drywall or Defective Drywall

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, defective drywall became a big problem in 2006 and 2007 when Florida experienced a massive construction increase to repair all the damage caused by 2004 and 2005 hurricanes. The problem continued until February 2009 when Senator Bill Nelson requested a ban on defective drywall.

LINK: Florida Drywall Center for more information Drywall Information Center
1-800-638-2772

Defective drywall is drywall that was imported from China and contained chemicals that cause respiratory problems, asthma, coughing and also damages air conditioner coils, electrical wiring and copper pipes. The Defective Drywall Disclosure is a way for seller’s to share any information they have on the drywall in the home. And buyer’s definitely rest easier knowing if the home has defective or safe drywall.

Termite

Termite Inspections are a must in Florida! Central Florida is home to beautiful and historic homes. The older the home, the better chance termites have moved in! Termite inspections are typically less than $100 and are worth the investment especially if you are buying an older home.

Florida has a perfect environment for termites to thrive, we have heat, humidity, and dark spaces where termites love to make nests. Termite damage can be repaired and homes can be treated to kill termites.

Survey

A Survey is considered an inspection in the home buying and selling process. The survey details the land being considered in the sale. The surveyor will outline the property and give their customer a picture of the land lines to a property. Additionally the surveyor will outline any buildings on the land and make note of any encroachments or areas the property may overlap into neighboring property.

HOA/CDD

Homeowner’s Associations (HOA’s) and Community Development Districts (CDD’s) have become very popular in Central Florida housing over the past 20 years. Think of HOA’s and CDD’s as a ‘Neighborhood Authority’. These authorities maintain design integrity of neighborhoods, for example, they control the exterior paint homeowner’s are allowed to use on their exterior walls. HOA’s also have authority over landscaping and hold homeowner’s responsible to keep their landscape looking nice. HOA’s and CDD’s have many benefits and may also maintain a community pool, common areas as well as playground area. The difference between HOA’s and CDD’s is that HOA’s collect fees (monthly, quarterly, annual, etc) directly from homeowners whereas CDD’s collect their money via the tax bill. (CDD’s are convenient for homeowner’s with a mortgage because the lender will collect for taxes and therefore also collect the CDD fees)

There are many more Disclosures and inspections involved in Florida Real Estate. While this list is not all encompassing, we hope you are a bit more familiar to the process. Contact a Realnet expert agent today to discuss your real estate needs.

Next: 6 Steps to Prepare Your Home for Sale