A Virginia 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 Virginia Have To Disclose Property Defects?
Virginia does require real estate sellers to disclose certain potential defects with a property, although it does not require disclosure of all material defects like many other states. The disclosure is made through a standardized form provided by statute.
State law exempts the following facts from a responsibility of disclosure:
- Whether the property was ever the site of a homicide, suicide, or felony
- Whether the property was ever the site of something that had no effect on the property’s physical structure, environment, or improvements
Virginia also exempts the following common transfers, among others, from the standard disclosure form requirement:
- Court-ordered sales and transfers
- Sales by foreclosure or other debt default
- Transfer as part of the execution of a will or estate
- Transfer to a spouse, parent, or child
- Transfers to or from a government entity
Required Seller Disclosures in Virginia
Virginia 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:
- Residential 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.
- 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.
- Virginia Disclosure Statement for Certain New Dwellings: Newly constructed residential buildings have a separate form requirement to inform a potential buyer about defects.
- Military Airbase in the Proximity of the Dwelling: Discloses when a property lies within a potential accident or noise zone.
- Current Building Code or Zoning Ordinance Violation: Discloses when then owner has knowledge of an infraction to the local building or zoning code on the property being sold.
- Manufacture of Methamphetamine on Premises: Discloses when a property has previously been used for methamphetamine production, without certified decontamination.
Sources
- 1 Va. Code § 55.1-713(A)
-
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or any other statute or regulation, no cause of action shall arise against an owner or a real estate licensee for failure to disclose that the real property was the site of:
1. An act or occurrence that had no effect on the physical structure of the real property, its physical environment, or the improvements located thereon; or
2. A homicide, felony, or suicide.
Source Link - 2 Va. Code § 55.1-702(A)
-
The following are specifically excluded from the provisions of this chapter:
1. Transfers pursuant to court order including transfers ordered by a court in administration of an estate, transfers pursuant to a writ of execution, transfers by foreclosure sale or by a deed in lieu of a foreclosure, transfers by a trustee in bankruptcy, transfers by eminent domain, and transfers resulting from a judgment for specific performance. Also, transfers by an assignment for the benefit of creditors pursuant to Chapter 18.1 (§ 8.01-525.1 et seq.) of Title 8.01 and transfers pursuant to escheats pursuant to Chapter 24 (§ 55.1-2400 et seq.).
2. Transfers to a beneficiary of a deed of trust pursuant to a foreclosure sale or by a deed in lieu of foreclosure, or transfers by a beneficiary under a deed of trust who has acquired the real property at a sale conducted pursuant to a foreclosure sale under a deed of trust or has acquired the real property by a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
3. Transfers by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent’s estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust.
4. Transfers from one or more co-owners solely to one or more other co-owners.
5. Transfers made solely to any combination of a spouse or one or more persons in the lineal line of consanguinity of one or more of the transferors.
6. Transfers between spouses resulting from a decree of divorce or a property settlement stipulation pursuant to the provisions of Title 20.
7. Transfers made by virtue of the record owner’s failure to pay any federal, state, or local taxes.
8. Transfers to or from any governmental entity or public or quasi-public housing authority or agency.
9. Transfers involving the first sale of a dwelling, provided that this exemption shall not apply to the disclosures required by § 55.1-704.
Source Link
