Fail to delivery seller’s disclosure after close

Ask your agent why there was no Seller's Disclosure. It is not required if the seller never lived in the home, such as an estate sale or if it was an investment property. Also, contact the Title Company you closed with and see if they possible have it. If that is not the case, try to contact the previous seller and see if one is available and would they provide it for you. Hopefully, you had an inspection, most inspectors would have uncovered a lot of what might have been disclosed. I hope that helps!

The realtor was probably right. Might not have been a disclosure. For example foreclosures don’t come with them.

The seller disclosure has 3 options on the contract,buyer has received,seller has a number of days to provide buyer and seller does not need to disclosure based on Texas property code.Most of the time most listings have seller disclosure in attachments both parties have to sign it,buyer and seller.On 2,you can specify days the seller needs to deliver the sellers disclosure.On 3 for foreclosures and bank sales the seller does not disclose a sellers disclosure

You are supposed to review Sellers Disclosure before closing. There are some circumstances where you won’t be able to get one, for example an estate or foreclosure. If the individual has never lived in property they won’t be able to provide one. You also had and have the right to consult with an attorney if you feel that this is not the case. I doubt that your agent intentionally avoided to provide info. Hope you at least had an inspection done on the property. It’s recommended to get an inspection regardless if you get a sellers disclosure or not. A good inspector will find things even on new homes that have never been lived in. The main purpose is for you the buyer to be aware of the condition of the home and know that there’s no major issues such as foundation, roof, electrical, or plumbing.

Know that there are many of us agents willing to help and hope this information provided by all of us has helped.

Have a great day!

Hi Mandy,

This is most unfortunate if you did not receive the Seller's Disclosures pursuant to the purchase contract.

For a 1-4 family resale property in the state of Texas, Paragraph 7B details the Seller's Disclosure Notice and (1), (2), and (3) state whether (1) it's been received by the Buyer, (2) it has not been received by the Buyer at the time of contract execution, or (3) Seller isn't required to furnish under the Texas Property Code (as there are instances when a Seller is not responsible for providing (for example, relocation companies, executor of a will, bank owned). The 1-4 family contract details delivery of the timeline for delivery (2) and ramifications if they aren't delivered within this time period. I'd also like to note it is not advised to "sign off" and check that disclosers have been received if they are not completely filled out by the Seller.

I would reach out to your real estate agent or brokerage that represented you in the purchase of the property. You should also reach out to a real estate attorney if you have any further questions or concerns that go beyond the facts of the contract / transaction.

Darby Grimmett
Keller Williams
936-827-9217
darby@darbygrimmett.com

Are you having problems with your townhouse, or just curious about something? I would ask yourself that question first. Unless you are suspecting previous flooding or something major, the info on the disclosure will most likely not be that useful to you now. Lawyers will cost you far more than any repairs. Granted, if their was a disclosure, and it was somehow shielded from you, that is wrong. But be clear on your motivations for wanting it now.

The first thing I would do is check your contract. If it's a fee simple townhome that would use the 1-4 family resale contract, it should be on page 4 in Paragraph 7.B of the contract to determine if, according to the contract, a seller's disclosure was required. A seller's disclosure may have not been required but if it was, it certainly should have been provided prior to closing. Usually, the seller's disclosure is the first step in your research. I hope you were able to do your due diligence and find out the information you required to move forward and are happy with your townhome.

This is not your fault. Real estate forms And documents are extremely confusing and difficult to interpret for someone who is not familiar with them. One of the reasons you hire an agent is to advise you on these topics and help navigate to the end of the deal—making sure you are protected the entire time.

Very rarely, the seller’s disclosure is not required for the sale of the home (as some others have explained in other answers.)
However, if the seller’s disclosure WAS required, the broker of the agent that represented you should not have approved the transaction without the seller’s disclosure on file—fully initialed and signed by the sellers and buyers.
And that broker is required to keep all documents for 4 years after the date of closing.
The broker of your agent should be listed on the second to last page of the contract. If they are still in business, contact them and ask them to pull the records and send you a copy of the seller’s disclosure.
Good luck.

In most cases the Seller's Disclosure Notice is required by law. First, look at your contract and review it to determine if the SDN is/was required for this transaction. If so, check to see if it is marked as received or does it state that it will be provided. Second, I would recommend contacting your agent to discuss the status/whereabouts of the SDN. If they are unable to provide the information, perhaps a call to their Broker would be in order. The SDN is a valuable tool in any Real Estate transaction, my hope is that you had access before making it to the closing table.

I would speak to your Agent’s Broker first, maybe that is something he / she can resolve.

If you have to go higher, contact a real estate attorney and Texas Real Estate Commission.

Wow, sorry to hear that.
Is there a specific reason why you ask this question? Do you have any concerns about your home, that you want to check if the seller had disclosed it in the Seller Disclosure before? If you give the address, I can check if the Sellers Disclosure is maybe still available online. Brokers are obligated to save the files for a number of years, so the Listing Agent and Broker should have the Seller's Disclosure readily available. You can contact the listing agent/broker for a copy.
Basically a Seller's Disclosure exists to give a potential buyer information about the home before he/she buys a home, so the potential buyer can take it into account when making decisions on whether to move forward with the purchase or not. If there's an issue with the home that the seller was aware of but didn't disclose, it can create a liability in the future for the seller.
In the sales contract the Seller's Disclosure is discussed in Paragraph 7B, whether you received it before you made the offer or whether you should have received it within a certain number of days. Depending on when the Sellers Disclosure is provided you would have had the chance to terminate the contract before the closing.
I assume you had a property inspection done, right? A good property inspection should have uncovered most flaws as well.
I hope you are still happy with your home and hope this question is not based on a major issue.
Good luck!

Wow. This is first. Hopefully you did get good inspections.

Hi Mandy

Most sellers in TX are required to provide Seller's Disclosure. The only instances where they're not, is if they had never seen, stepped in, or been to the property they're selling (i.e. if someone living out of state received a property in a will from relative; or if a property bank owned).
Buyers have also a right to terminate contract if the Seller's Disclosure notice is not provided within time specified in paragraph 7.B.(2) of the 1-4 Residential Contract.

Open your contract and look at page 4 to see which option under paragraph 7 was checked.

I'd recommend that you reach out to your agent- he or she will have the transaction details (which we don't have here) necessary to determine whether or not Seller was required to provide the Disclosure. Your agent may also check if the Disclosure is still attached to the listing in the MLS (in case it was there), or ask the seller's agent if such Disclosure was available at the time.

I also recommend that you contact Real Estate attorney for advice.

I hope this helps.
Thank you,

Yvonne Chauvin- REALTOR
Better Homes and Gardens Gary Greene Real Estate

There are circumstances when a Sellers Disclosure is not required such as a foreclosure or an administrator of an estate. You checked a box on the contract that says you did or did not receive the notice. You had 7 days after your received the notice to terminate the contract. Unless the property was one not requiring a disclosure you were entitled to a disclosure. I would request one from your buyer’s agent and the listing agent. In the event you are unable to obtain the disclosure I would contact a real estate attorney for their advice and if needed their assistance

If the property was exempt from the disclosure, you wouldn’t have gotten one. If it was not exempt, you should talk to an attorney to determine what legal action you can take. No agent should be able to get away with telling you something which is not true.