Is there an official sellers disclosure form for florida residential real estate?

You are required to disclose facts materially affecting the value of the property which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer even if you are selling the property "as is." The Florida Bar and the Florida Association of Realtors have a standard seller's disclosure form. If you are working with a realtor, they should have one. If not, you may be able to find it on the internet. If not, contact your attorney.

There is no legal requirement in FL to complete or provide a buyer with a seller's disclosure, regardless of whether the house is being sold "as is" or not. However, most savvy buyers &/or their real estate agents/brokers will ask for a seller's disclosure form & it may be a red flag if you will not provide one. The association now known as FL Realtors (formerly the FL Association of Realtors) has a seller's disclosure form that association members have access to. So, if you have hired a Realtor to list your house, he or she should be able to obtain this form. I'm sure there are many other, generic forms out there you could use, also. There is a line of FL case law that mandates that when asked, the seller must disclose all material defects in the property that could affect a buyer's decision to purchase. For example, if you have stains on your ceiling & the buyer asks about them, if it's an active leak or a leak that was recently repaired & you are not yet sure whether it was an adequate repair, you should not keep that information from the buyers or misinform them about the situation. A buyer in an as-is situation is still entitled to know such details about a property they may wish to purchase. Likewise, be very careful about leaving information off of any question on a seller's disclosure form. If a buyer can later come back & argue that they asked you about a condition & you either misrepresented the situation or failed to disclose something in response to their question, it's possible you could be held legally responsible to the buyer for damages. Also, seller's disclosure form or not, keep in mind that if your buyers present an offer, it may contain language stating the buyers have a specified time to conduct inspections of the property & may have the ability to cancel the contract if they do not find the inspection results acceptable. In an "as-is" setting, you are not offering to pay for repairs, so it stands to reason the buyers may not want to incur the expenses they discover will be necessary to fix up the house themselves. At any rate, that is getting into contract drafting & interpretation, which was not your question. If it becomes your question, I recommend consulting with a real estate attorney in your area to help you interpret the provisions of a contract your real estate agent/broker is suggesting you use, or the provisions of any offer you receive from a prospective buyer. Good luck! The above information is not comprehensive & is intended as a starting point for educational purposes only. It does not create an attorney-client relationship with the author. You should consult with a local attorney who can listen to the details of your particular situation & assist you in determining your best course of action, based on your specific circumstances.