Hello everyone! This is Ann Zieve with the Keller Williams Success Realty and the Northern Utah Home Team here to give you my weekly market update, and this week we’re going to talk about why sellers disclosures are your best protection against problems after a closing. But first let’s take a look at some market statistics, and then we’ll take a look at some new homes on the market.

Well as we’re approaching Thanksgiving, we take a look at our rolling market statistics and we can see that our market is flattening out. Many things are pretty much coming to a plateau and in some instances like price, they are almost back to the levels where they were a year ago. We can see the days on market has pretty much leveled off as has the number of total listings and inventory on the market. So this is all to be expected this time of year as sign that we’re approaching our holiday slowdown soon, but it’s still a great time to buy or sell a home. There’s still buyers and sellers out there. So take advantage of less competition and get out there and make a deal.

Well, let’s talk about an important tool when you’re making deals. So a seller’s property condition disclosure is the form that a seller fills out to tell about all the problems past and present that they know with the property, and this is required by law because right here we have instructions that the seller is obligated under law regardless of occupancy to disclose to buyers defects in the property and facts known to sellers that materially and adversely affect the use or value of the property that cannot be discovered by a reasonable inspection by an ordinary, prudent buyer.

So this is the way that a seller can prevent a buyer from coming back later and saying, “You didn’t tell us about such and such,” because if it’s on this form, they were told, and this is they buyer’s way of knowing problems with the property that they might not be able to find out otherwise from just an inspection. This form is going to give you great information about ownership and occupancy status. This is especially important if you’re buying a short sale or a foreclosure or a rental property. It’s going to tell you about remodels, use of the property, information about the roof, utilities, heating and cooling, appliances, equipment, fireplaces, interior, exterior, pests, structure boundaries, electrical, mold, moisture problems, hazardous conditions, Homeowner’s Associations, assessments, insurance, and then the seller signs at the end that it’s to the best of their knowledge, and the buyer also has to sign every page to show that they did receive it so they can’t come back later and say they didn’t know about it. So this is definitely a form whether you’re a seller or a buyer that you’re going to want to get your hands on and fill it out and read it and sign it and hold onto it because this is your best protection from the other party coming back later and saying that there is a problem they didn’t know about.

So let’s take a look at some homes on the market. I am really excited about this new home on the market in the Ogden Valley. It overlooks Pine View Reservoir, and just take a quick look at this stunning with a three-car garage, and the tremendous entryway, and inside you’re going to find incredible finishes and five bedrooms, four baths, 5,000 square feet of entertaining and living space, balconies all around, a beautiful gourmet kitchen and just the list of features go on and on and on and great views of the Ogden Valley and the Pine View Reservoir. This home is listed at $925,000, so it’s not going to fit into everybody’s budget, but it sure is pretty to look at, and if that is something that would be in your budget, get a hold of us and we’ll get you more information.

Well, that wraps up this week’s market update. If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call, a text, or an email, and we’ll be happy to help you buy a home, sell your house, or invest in real estate. Until next week, keep living smart!