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| MINNESOTA PROPERTY RIGHTS
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| Yes,
You Do Have to Give a Buyer Certain Information When You Sell Your Property. |
Minnesota
law requires sellers of real estate to disclose to buyers, in writing,
before entering into a purchase agreement:all material facts of which the seller is aware that could adversely and significantly affect:The statute goes on to say that "the disclosure must be made in good faith and based upon the best of the seller's knowledge at the time of the disclosure." So, what a seller must disclose is not limited to items that may happen to be printed on some disclosure form checklist. Sometimes it varies with the particular transaction because one buyer may intend to use the property in one way, while another may have another use in mind. What must be disclosed depends on whether the fact is "material." What is a material fact? Some guidelines: - If you were the buyer, would you want to know? - Is the seller moving because of a particular fact? - Could the fact materially affect the value of the property? Most people would agree that facts that materially affect the value of property are "material," and they would want to know those facts before investing in a piece of real estate. The best advice to sellers is, "If in doubt, disclose." The alternative may very well lead to an expensive lawsuit. The Water Management Plan is supposed to describe various costs of implementing its numerous "actions." But it says nothing about the impact on property owners --- perhaps in part because its author assumes that when selling real estate, property owners will engage in the kind of fraudulent conduct that this statute prohibits. As Joe Harris asked last night, "What do you care?" |