When selling a bank- or real estate-owned (REO) property, some disclosure laws don’t apply.

That’s what we hear from the handsome and talented Blake Hegeman, our associate counsel. Apparently the Legal Hotline has been receiving a lot of questions about this subject.

Here’s the skinny:

Foreclosure and REO Properties: To Disclose or Not to Disclose….

The Legal Hotline has been inundated with calls concerning what must be disclosed when selling foreclosure or real estate owned (REO) properties. Specifically, do property owners’ association (POA) packets/condominium resale certificates, lead-based paint disclosures, and Residential Property Disclosure Statements have to be provided for both foreclosures and REO properties?

  • If a property is sold at foreclosure, none of these disclosures are required
  • If the property is REO (where the bank has taken the property back in foreclosure or by deed in lieu and intends to sell it), the following disclosures are required:

       – POA packet/condominium resale certificate
       – Lead-based paint disclosure for properties built prior to 1978

  • In either case, the Residential Property Disclosure Statement is not required.