The “AS IS” Residential Contract For Sale and Purchase (the “Contract”) is the most common contract used in the state of Florida for residential real estate transactions. It was developed over many years by a joint committee of the Florida Realtors (formerly the Florida Association of Realtors) and the Florida Bar.
The Contract does not require the seller to make repairs to the defects in the property, but it does require disclosure of property defects among other things. If the seller does not make require disclosures to the buyer, then the seller may open him or herself to a future lawsuit. The disclosure requirements in the Contract include:
- Unpermitted work – The seller must disclose whether there is unpermitted work that was done to the property. Unpermitted work can be dangerous, it may involve city fines, and it may require the buyer to hire contractors to undue and replace the unpermitted work.
- Permits – The seller must disclose open permits that the seller knows about, but has not closed.
- Unobservable defects – If the buyer cannot observe a defect by inspecting the property, then the seller must disclose the defect if the seller knows about it.
- Government notices – The seller must disclose notices from government entities with regard to uncorrected building, environmental, or safety code violations.
- Association – If the property is in a condominium or homeowner’s association, then the seller must disclose that fact to the buyer.
- Tenants – If the property is tenant-occupied, then this must be disclosed to the buyer.
- Lead-based paint – If the property was built prior to 1978, then the seller must disclose whether lead-based paint was used in the property.
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