Those ominous words, but what do they mean? Here in Alabama, buyer beware means just that.... buyer beware.
Alabama is one of a handful of states that still operates under "caveat emptor" which means buyer beware
An article was posted today on al.com by Sean Riley, Home Buyers In State Have Little Protection, that addresses this policy here in Alabama.
The article noted Jeff Newman, from the Mobile Area Association of Realtors, as saying that "...in his experience, 90 percent of disputes are the result of miscommunication." and "There's no intent to do wrong..."
One of the most ironic points of the article was that, since Alabama was still a Buyer Beware state, "...real estate professionals may find themselves at greater risk of getting sued because Alabama does not require sellers to disclose all known property conditions."
Also, according to the article, "In a study published in 2003, Zumpano and a co-author found that more than three-quarters of lawsuits in Alabama against real estate salespeople were in some way related to the condition of property being sold. The study also found that the rate of lawsuits was higher in Alabama than in three other Southern states that had disclosure laws on the books."
So, what does all of this mean to the consumer, or should I say, YOU the buyer and seller. First, let me say that you do have options.
Sellers, you can get a home inspection done before you place your home on the market and address what needs to be fixed. As a seller, your agent can share this with prospective buyers to show what was found and what was fixed. Also, homeowner, keep your records and paperwork for anything you had done on the house like replacing an air conditioner or replacing the roof, for example.
Buyers, you get a home inspection too! Even if the sellers have had a preinspection like the one noted above, we would recommend getting another one maybe even from a different inspection company. This just keeps the companies honest and you never know what could have been missed on accident during the first inspection or has broken since it was inspected. Also, you can make the contract contingent upon the home inspection. By doing this you have an escape clause in case the inspection comes back a little shady.
These are just a few of ideas you can do to protect yourself and probably the biggest financial investment of your life. Hopefully, once the transaction is over and you are settled in your experience and home will leave you feeling more like this! (and not like the lady up there!)
Here's a little video about the home inspection process. Please note that you will need to communicate with your inspector to see which of these areas he does or does not address. Since every region of the country is different there will also be differences in the inspection process.
Buyers always need to do their due diligence, but thank goodness, California watches out for buyers. Our purchase contracts are heavily laced with contingencies and our real estate law requires full disclosure of all material facts.
When I talk to a seller I can not stress our State Disclosures enough, and the importance of being sued if they lie. It takes alot of the burden on me as an agent. Ohio even requires that all pages be filled out by the seller. All we can do as agents is fill in the Address and sellers name. Everything else even the n/a MUST be in the Clients writing.
I also warn my buyers that the disclosures are not warrenties though. They need to rely on their own inspections, and have them done.
The first pic you have with the frightened lady made me laugh. I had a lady refuse to list with me because she felt the disclosures were wrong and prevent her from selling her house. The look on her face as she read the disclosure looked just like your pic HAHA!!! She would not take that it was a State Law, not me. She did not even ask me to leave, she said Get out of my house. Almost a year later she still has a FSBO sign up in her yard.
Stephen,
I just listed my Dothan-area home and was stunned that I didn't have to complete any sort of Seller's Property Disclosure. To contrast, the Colorado SPD is eight pages long!
I guess I already knew this because when I bought the house, nothing was disclosed to me which seemed weird, especially afterwards when I found tons of problems that the sellers had to know about and were significant. But my agent explained that there was nothing I could do.
And yes, I did have a very expensive home inspection. Thank God for Old Republic Home Warranty! (they rock!)