Did you know - Disclosures necessary in a Missouri home sale

The largest single financial transaction in the lives of most Americans is the sale or purchase of a residence. There are requirements baked into state law, known as Revised Statutes of Missouri, which govern the sharing, or disclosure, of information when a property goes up for sale.

The Southeast Missourian reached out to two local real estate authorities to find out what disclosures are required: Terry Baker, association executive, Southeast Missouri REALTORS; and Chris Cole, managing broker of Cape Girardeau-based Edge Realty and Lorimont Commercial Real Estate. Cole also is a licensed attorney in the state.

General disclosure

"I would say Missouri does have relatively fewer required disclosure laws than most states," Cole said.

"Some states require sellers to disclose any known issues plus repairs that have been made, while Missouri statutes and case law only appear to require the disclosure of any known material defects that could not be discovered by a reasonable inspection, otherwise known as latent defects."

Chris Cole

Chris Cole

"I think for a seller, it's in his or her best interests to disclose and you're being transparent (with a buyer) at the same time. Every home has some issues, even new homes. There can be situations where a seller might try to hide something," said Baker, who has led Southeast Missouri REALTORS since 2017.

Required disclosures

"Sellers must disclose by law whether a property was ever the site of any methamphetamine production and any (related criminal) convictions. Also required is whether a property was ever contaminated with radioactive or hazardous materials," Cole said.

"There is also a lead-based paint disclosure required of sellers. Lead-based paint was banned in 1978, but is still present in older homes, so the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues to enforce disclosure with a per-violation fine of $21,000 if not completed. Lead-based paint poisoning can be very harmful, especially for children."

Not legally required

Terry Baker

Terry Baker

A seller in Missouri is not legally mandated to disclose whether a person with HIV/AIDS has ever occupied the residence, if known. Also, there is no legal obligation whether a person was murdered in the residence; whether other felonies occurred there; of whether a suicide happened on the property.

"By state statute, any facts associated with immune deficiency syndromes, homicides and other felonies are considered 'psychological impacts', which are not required to be disclosed by sellers or by real estate agents. Whether an agent may disclose such facts is a matter of agreement between a seller and the listing agent of record," Cole said.

"REALTORS, under the National Association of REALTORS Code of Ethics, as well as all real estate licensees subject to Missouri license law, must not misrepresent, conceal or omit any material facts about a property. However, both the Code of Ethics and Missouri license law are generally referring to 'physical' defects about a property."

A final word

"Even though things may not be required (to disclose), I've known REALTORS to say to clients, 'Hey, you might need legal advice if you're not sure'," Baker said.

"For risk management reasons, we always recommend sellers truthfully and accurately complete a thorough disclosure statement in order to be protected against any potential claim that a legal disclosure obligation was violated," Cole added.

Note: Writer Jeff Long is a former Missouri REALTOR.