A Maine residential real estate purchase agreement (“Contract for Sale and Purchase of Real Estate”) is a contract which commits a buyer to an offer to purchase real estate, according to specific terms agreed by the buyer and seller. Negotiated specifics include the purchase price, financing method, closing date, and more.
Do Sellers in Maine Have To Disclose Property Defects?
Maine does require real estate sellers to disclose any material defects with a property. In most cases, this is through a standardized disclosure form provided by the local realty agency, but any disclosure which provides the required information is valid.
By mutual agreement, it is possible to waive the use of a standard form and handle required disclosures another way. However, the seller always has a duty to disclose all material defects that are not obvious on a casual inspection of the property, even if the buyer agrees to take the property “as-is.”
The basic duty to disclose cannot be waived under any circumstances, unless the sale falls under a recognized legal exemption. Maine exempts the following common transfers, among others, from the disclosure form requirement:
- By court order
- By foreclosure, power of sale, or other form of default on credit
- During the course of executing the estate of someone deceased
- When the transfer is to a spouse, parent, or child
- To or from a government entity
Required Seller Disclosures in Maine
Maine sellers of residential real estate must make the following disclosures, as appropriate, in order for a real estate purchase agreement to be considered legally binding:
- Sellers Property Disclosure Statement: Discloses material defects with a property that are known to the seller at the time of sale, and details any potential issues and conditions that may affect the value of the property. A seller must disclose ALL the information mentioned in the statute. Note that as of 2024, disclosure requirements now include flood hazard risk.
- Lead-Based Paint Disclosure: Any home constructed earlier than 1978 must come with a disclosure upon the transfer of the property which includes any information about the presence of lead on the premises, as well as educational materials that communicate the health risks associated with lead exposure.
Sources
- 1 Me. Stat. tit. 33 § 172
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This subchapter applies to the transfer of any interest in residential real property, whether by sale, exchange, installment land contract, lease with an option to purchase or any other option to purchase. If a person licensed to practice real estate brokerage is involved in the transaction, the licensee is subject to the requirements of licensure in Title 32, chapter 114. The following transfers are exempt from this subchapter:
1. Court order. Transfers pursuant to court order, including, but not limited to, transfers ordered by a court in the administration of an estate, transfers pursuant to a writ of execution, transfers by any foreclosure sale, transfers by a trustee in bankruptcy, transfers by eminent domain and transfers resulting from a decree for specific performance;
2. Default. Transfers to a mortgagee by a mortgagor or successor in interest who is in default or transfers to a beneficiary of a deed of trust by a trustor or successor in interest who is in default;
3. Power of sale. Transfers by a sale under a power of sale or any foreclosure sale under a decree of foreclosure after default in an obligation secured by a mortgage or deed of trust or secured by any other instrument containing a power of sale, or transfers by a mortgagee or a beneficiary under a deed of trust who has acquired the residential real property at a sale conducted pursuant to a power of sale under a mortgage or deed of trust or a sale pursuant to a decree of foreclosure or who has acquired the residential real property by a deed in lieu of foreclosure;
4. Fiduciary. Transfers by a fiduciary in the course of administration of a decedent’s estate, guardianship, conservatorship or trust;
5. Coowner. Transfers from one or more coowners solely to one or more other coowners;
6. Testate; intestate succession. Transfers pursuant to testate or intestate succession;
7. Consanguinity. Transfers made to a spouse or to a person or persons in the lineal line of consanguinity of one or more of the owners;
8. Divorce. Transfers between spouses resulting from a judgment of divorce or a judgment of separate maintenance or from a property settlement agreement incidental to such a judgment;
9. Government. Transfers or exchanges to or from any governmental entity;
10. Relocation. Transfers from an entity that has taken title to a residential real property to assist the prior owner in relocating, as long as the entity makes available to the purchaser a copy of the property disclosure statement furnished to the entity by the prior owner;
11. Living trust. Transfers to a living trust; and
12. Corrective deed. Transfers that, without additional consideration and without changing ownership or ownership interest, confirm, correct, modify or supplement a deed previously recorded.
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