disclosures

[TrustUser]

california

we had an interesting discussion very recently, regarding clarity of documents. i am filling out disclosures, from a seller's standpoint. here is a question that i think is very poorly written

1) are you aware of within the last 3 years, the death of an occupant of the property upon the property

what the heck do they mean by "upon the property"

it is very common for a person to die, while he is at his home, so i doubt that this is what they want to know

what would make sense to me is wanting to know if someone died on the property, due to something on the property. if this is what this question is attempting to ask, they worded it POORLY.

 

[quincy]

california

we had an interesting discussion very recently, regarding clarity of documents. i am filling out disclosures, from a seller's standpoint. here is a question that i think is very poorly written

1) are you aware of within the last 3 years, the death of an occupant of the property upon the property

what the heck do they mean by "upon the property"

it is very common for a person to die, while he is at his home, so i doubt that this is what they want to know

what would make sense to me is wanting to know if someone died on the property, due to something on the property. if this is what this question is attempting to ask, they worded it POORLY.

Agreed. It is poorly written.

 

[Taxing Matters]

california

1) are you aware of within the last 3 years, the death of an occupant of the property upon the property

what the heck do they mean by "upon the property"

While not drafted as well as I would like, the question as written would call for disclosure of any death of an occupant in the last three years that occurred while on the property. And my guess is that they meant to ask exactly that. A disclosure form used in a state where I once lived had just that sort of question. An answer of yes would then lead to follow-up questions to determine the circumstances of the death. Doing it that way ensures that the buyer can find out about anything that might disturb him about the property. Some people are spooked if someone died in the home no matter what the reason was. For others, the circumstances matter: was it something about the home or the neighborhood that contributed to the death? A buyer doesn't want to leave it to the seller to determine whether a death was cause for concern or not, as the sellers are likely to want to say that it wasn’t. Thus, asking a question of whether someone died on the property due to some hazard or condition of the property or due to some hazard or condition of the neighborhood risks answers that fail to disclose something the buyer may want to know.

it is very common for a person to die, while he is at his home, so i doubt that this is what they want to know

Thus, for the reasons explained above, I think it is quite possible that is exactly what they want to know. Sure, it happens that natural deaths occur in homes that are then sold by the estates or beneficiaries of the decedent. But you are more likely to find out about problematic deaths if you ask a broader question than a narrow one.

 

[TrustUser]

ok, thanks. i did not check yes or no, but did tell them that i am selling the property due to the fact that my tenant of 10+ years died, and i decided not to keep it any longer as a rental. if they want to check up on that, they can.

i also put my 2 cents in, and told them that i could not check yes or no, because the question was worded so poorly - LOL

 

[TrustUser]

she was elderly. but they can do all the checking they desire !!

 

[HRZ]

A short simple disclosure of a prior factual event greatly reduces odds that it can come up later to bite you at an inopportune time