Disclosing Death In A Home For Sale In Florida

November 28th, 2006 categories: Home Inspection Tips, Tampa Florida Real Estate, Tampa Homes, Tampa Real Estate, Tips for Sellers

I recently had a prospective client ask me to list his home for sale. During our initial conversation he noted that his mother had recently passed away in the home and that she was discovered by a visiting relative.

Sellers are required to disclose anything that will materially affect the value of the real property. So is this something he needs to disclose? I will surely be asked by buyers and/or their agents the reason why the home is for sale. “Estate sale”, will be my answer. If the question of whether or not the owner died in the home is asked, I ethically have to provide the correct answer. If it matters to the buyer, then the buyer needs to know. In this case it was a natural death.

But what are the legal issues? According to the 2006 Florida Statute 689.25:

(b) The fact that a property was, or was at any time suspected to have been, the site of a homicide, suicide, or death is not a material fact that must be disclosed in a real estate transaction.

So no, my client does not need to offer this information upfront on the Seller’s Real Property Disclosure.

Furthermore, the same statute states the following:

1)(a) The fact that an occupant of real property is infected or has been infected with human immunodeficiency virus or diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome is not a material fact that must be disclosed in a real estate transaction.

and

(2) A cause of action shall not arise against an owner of real property, his or her agent, an agent of a transferee of real property, or a person licensed under chapter 475 for the failure to disclose to the transferee that the property was or was suspected to have been the site of a homicide, suicide, or death or that an occupant of that property was infected with human immunodeficiency virus or diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

So Florida law protects sellers and their agents from not disclosing these things to prospective buyers. If you’re a buyer and any of these things concern you, don’t expect the answers to be offered by the seller. You’ll have to ask and hope someone knows the answer.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 28th, 2006 at 12:59 pm and is filed under Home Inspection Tips, Tampa Florida Real Estate, Tampa Homes, Tampa Real Estate, Tips for Sellers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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One Response to “Disclosing Death In A Home For Sale In Florida”

1. Tampa Florida Real Estate Blog » Blog Archive » Hillsborough Property Taxes–Paid In The Rears? [September 11th, 2007]

   [...] Covered this issue a while back. See: Disclosing Death… [...]

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