If you are looking to buy Boca Raton real estate in the 1970s two or three hours before closing you would do an initial inspection of the property. Yes that’s right I said the initial inspection. He would walk through the house probably check to be sure the seller’s items were out turn on the sinks, flush the toilets, flip the air on to make sure it’s cool, then flip the heat on to make sure it smells and off he would go to closing. If there was a problem with something at the house you try your best and negotiate through it at the closing. Yes back then it was “caveat emptor,” or let the buyer beware. If the buyer didn’t notice something it was his tough luck and the seller didn’t need to contribute anything to enhance the buyer’s knowledge of the property.
Fast forward to today when you buy Boca Raton real estate it’s a whole different story.
To start with most buyers will expect a seller’s property disclosure report which is normally a five page document in the form of questions and answers to describe what the seller knows about the condition of their property. The seller doesn’t need to pay to have a report done in order to fill out the form but they need to be honest and described to the best of their current knowledge the condition of the property. If they don’t know something they can certainly put that they don’t know it and that’s acceptable as long as it’s true. The current contracts that are used for the most part do not condition for this seller’s disclosure but most buyers these days expect the report. If you are using a broker to buy your Boca Raton real estate nine times out of 10 you’ll bring up this topic and pursue getting a report from the seller if at all possible.