September 9th, 2019 at 1:18 pm
A. If the home is currently vacant, but was previously occupied by the seller.
B. If the home is currently occupied by a tenant.
C. If the seller is aware of material facts affecting the home.
D. All of the above.
E. None of the above.
Answer: Answer D is the best answer. There is no TDS exemption for the seller of a non-owner occupied home, regardless of whether the property is vacant, occupied by a tenant, or previously occupied by the owner.
Sellers who do not know very much about their non-owner occupied homes should just do the best they can to complete the TDS. On page 1 of the TDS, if the seller doesn’t know whether the home has certain items, such as, for example, a microwave, the seller can insert “Don’t Know” next to that item. On page 2 of the TDS, the questions posed ask whether the seller is aware of certain issues. If the seller does not know if the property has any neighborhood nuisances, for example, the correct answer is “no.” Saying “no” does not mean that the seller is vouching for the fact that there are no neighborhood nuisances. The answer “no” simply means that the seller is not aware of any neighborhood nuisances.
Additionally, in the blank spaces provided on page 2 of the TDS, the seller can disclose the non-owner occupancy situation, such as, for example, by explaining that the seller now lives in Montana and has not occupied the subject property for 5 years, and has seldom visited the home since moving out.
-Thank you to Todd Henricks (Beverly Hills Office) for suggesting this week’s legal tip.
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