Property Conditions Disclosure Statement

GENERAL RULE: Sellers should pay $500 every time.

Tonight at The Real Estate School I was asked why only Long Islanders pay (as a general practice) and don't fill out the Property Conditions Disclosure Statement (PCDS)?

For starters, I believe that everyone in New York State (NYS) has this practice, not just Long Islanders. If someone knows otherwise, please elaborate. Also, this law is State specific, NY's is called NY REAL PROPERTY LAW ART. 14 sec. 462(2), so other States don't use this law as it is enacted in NYS.

For those who don't know what I am talking about, the PCD Act, which was enacted in NY on March 1, 2002 is a law that requires sellers of residential real estate to complete and deliver a 48 question disclosure statement to buyers as part of the transaction. Yet, failure to deliver the PCDS before the buyer signs the contract, requires the seller to give a $500 credit against the purchase price to the seller at the time of closing. As a result, a seller can avoid answering any questions, which may potentially expose the seller to liability, by only paying $500.

A copy of a PCDS form can be found by clicking here

So - Caveat Emptor lives on!