Seller's disclosure question

I know there are realtors on this board who can answer this and maybe some house hunters know, too -- by law what do the seller's have to disclose to me about the house's defects? My realtor told me there is an NY State Disclosure form they are supposed to fill out, but most lawyers suggest the seller's pay a $500 fine to the buyers instead of signing the form. That seems terrible to me, but that's what she said.

I have been researching and read that sellers and agents must disclose any defects if they are asked about them (for instance if I ask, 'Does the roof leak?' and they say 'no' when they know it does, that would be illegal). I just want to get as much info on the house before I make an offer -- like if the roof has ever been replaced, how old are the heating/cooling systems, etc. What should I ask about the home and will the sellers be required to answer them? Also, how can I get this information when I am looking at the homes with my agent and the seller's and their agents, who know about the house, aren't around?

the problem with filling out that form (from the sellers point of view) is that you could be responsible for things that break in the house even AFTER you close on the sale. For example, you have a dishwasher in the house that is a few years old. Its been working great for you, the day after you close on the house (the buyers are moving in) the hose on the dishwasher breaks and there is water all over the place...should the seller be responsible for the clean up and repair??

As a buyer, you expect certain things to be in working order and in good condition (that is why yiu have a through inspection and also a walk through the day before you close but once a house is sold, the sellers should not be responsible for things that go wrong in years to come.

As far as your answers to your questions...about the roof, boiler and other things around the house....you get a house inspection that goes over every room and appliance in your house.

Most people have receipts on these services, certifications, and certificates of occupancies. For examples, on a recent house I asked the seller 'when was the oil tank removed?' She said 5 years ago and I said, 'Do you have a certificate you could show me on that?' She said yes. While I did not see it at that time, before we signed the contract I perused the certificates. Same with roof replacement. Also, the engineer/inspector clause in your contract will help you get out of problems. In one house inspection, the inspector said that the deck was not built to town code. I called town records and he was right.

You would be hard pressed to find the lawyer who didnt tell his clients to just pay the 500 dollars!

Our homeowners had everything in order, they gave us a huge envelop with receipt for everything so that was helpful!

But as someone said you get a trained professional to look at the house and they will let you know of any issues as they see them, and they will find things that are no big deal(ours told us there should be a railing on the wall going down to the basement!)

Ask the questions when you are looking but honestly for the most party you just have to go by gut and hope they are telling you what you need to knwo! Then you bring in the professionals! We were also lucky, we went to thehouse the first time by ourselves and then teh next time we brought our dads (ones an enginner ones a plumber)

Good Luck!