I would check for permits.

What counts as scary when it comes to structural stuff? We have some cracks in our walls upstairs and the floor slopes downward about an inch on both sides from the middle... we got it checked out by a structural engineer who said it wasn't a safety issue but the sloping would likely continue to get worse very slowly over the coming decades.

Anonymous wrote:Looking at the MD disclosure form and it feels like there is a ton of negative stuff we theoretically should disclose about our 1950s home-- history of frozen pipes including water damage from a couple bursts, unpermitted work on the house, minor termite damage from back before we bought the house, ants and mice making their way inside from time to time, some asbestos and lead paint like most other old houses, etc. Will we be at a disadvantage if we disclose all this stuff honestly (which is always my inclination) because most people lie, or do sellers tend to be honest?

Also, what disclosures actually scare people off and what disclosures do buyers typically shrug their shoulders about?

{Shudder} 🫣

Anonymous wrote:All old houses have lead paint. Not a big deal. Frozen pipes are not a big deal if fixed. Mice and ants are normal.
Abestoes is part of old homes. Depends where it is.
We have on our roof. It’s a pain if we need to replace the roof but the roof is original to 1953 house and might be ugly but it has never leaked.
We knew that when we bought.
Flooding is the big red flag I would want to know about and mold.

I thought all living areas in the DMV had mold? Don't we live in a swampy humid climate? It was hot as hell today. I'm sure mold spores popped up everywhere.

As if I could remember everything

I tell clients that structural issues are the most scary, and most everything else can be remedied with the right contractor.

You want to disclose everything you personally know from the time you lived there. If the people before had termites but you didn't, you can disclose but you are not obligated to. If you have had no termites in your time of ownership, you don't have to disclose. If you have a contract with a company to spray, mention this.

If the frozen and burst pipes were remedied, disclose the issue and tell what you did to fix/solve it.

If unpermitted work occurred on the house under your watch, disclose. If not, then the buyer is able to find any permits using the same online system you would find, so you don't have to disclose but this is a gray area. Since you know, you should disclose, but this doesn't meet the test of something "latent."

If you tested for asbestos and didn't remediate, and you tested for lead paint and didn't remediate, then disclose. If you assume it's asbestos and lead, you say unknown.

Most people are truthful in Maryland because there are lots of rules/laws and the price for not disclosing is steep.

Your agent should be telling you this by the way. If they don't know or letting you fly blind on this, that's not good.

All old houses have lead paint. Not a big deal. Frozen pipes are not a big deal if fixed. Mice and ants are normal.
Abestoes is part of old homes. Depends where it is.
We have on our roof. It’s a pain if we need to replace the roof but the roof is original to 1953 house and might be ugly but it has never leaked.
We knew that when we bought.
Flooding is the big red flag I would want to know about and mold.

I think a lot of people hide behind “unknown,” especially with lead. They never inspect so they never have to disclose.

I am not sure what the exact test is, but it feels like anything that could recur should be disclosed. So if you fixed the issue with bursting pipes by getting proper insulation, and the issue hasn't happened again in several years (and you have no reason to believe it will happen again), I don't think disclosure is necessary. Same with termites -- if you got it professionally treated and have had no problems in a long time, I don't think disclosure is necessary. Just my personal opinion though.

Mold, flooding, asbestos and lead, all of which require remediation.

Our house had some minor termite damage that had been repaired when we bought it, but it had been repaired long before we got there. Our agent at the time said all houses in the area either have had, do have, or will have termites at some point.

Bamboo in the yard would also scare me off, knowing what I know now. It cost us tens of thousands of dollars to get it all removed, and then years pulling up random rhizomes, and them more $$ putting in a steep barrier 3 feet down between our property and the neighbors (who weren't doing as good a job as we were with getting all the rhizomes)

We purchased our home from an agent-owner (2020). In my opinion she over-disclosed to the point where anyone getting her report would have been scared off immediately, and I think this is why we got such a great deal on the house. It had been on the market for 6 months with no takers and I truly believe it had to do with her extensive and exhaustive list of disclosures. Our agent really helped us in this regard by taking a very pragmatic approach with the report and helped us not panic and focus on only the items that were really concerning - mostly related to structural issues. We loved the house enough to hire a structural engineer who confirmed that the issues the seller disclosed were actually non-issues. It was the best money we spent. She also disclosed that the 71 year old neighbor was planning to tear down and rebuild possibly obstructing our views. Our agent met with the neighbor personally and found out he had no intention of tearing down and rebuilding and that our seller was referring to a very old conversation they had - in passing. Something akin to "yeah one day I'm going to tear down and rebuild...". We also went to the city to verify nothing had been submitted by him ever for this project, no permit had ever been requested.

Scary - no disclosures on a 1950s house, because, c'mon, let's be realistic here.

Scary: mold, termites, lead, radon, history of flooding

Yes you should be honest to avoid an angry buyers discovering something or worse case litigation. Only unrealistic, picky people like a lot of DCUM posters do not understand and accept that old houses have all of the minor issues that you mention.

Looking at the MD disclosure form and it feels like there is a ton of negative stuff we theoretically should disclose about our 1950s home-- history of frozen pipes including water damage from a couple bursts, unpermitted work on the house, minor termite damage from back before we bought the house, ants and mice making their way inside from time to time, some asbestos and lead paint like most other old houses, etc. Will we be at a disadvantage if we disclose all this stuff honestly (which is always my inclination) because most people lie, or do sellers tend to be honest?

Also, what disclosures actually scare people off and what disclosures do buyers typically shrug their shoulders about?