Personal Representative Should Complete the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement (SPDS) Even if They Have Never Resided in the Property

Resource: Arizona REALTORS® Legal Hotline

FACTS:

Acting on behalf of an estate, the court appointed personal representative listed the property for sale shortly after the death of the owner. The personal representative has never resided in the Property and has virtually no knowledge of the property’s conditions. The personal representative ultimately entered into an Arizona REALTORS® Residential Resale Real Estate Purchase Contract with the buyer. The buyer has now requested a SPDS and the personal representative does not want to provide it claiming she has no knowledge of the property condition.

ISSUE: 

Is the personal representative required to provide a SPDS even though she has virtually no knowledge of Property condition?

ANSWER:

See discussion.

DISCUSSION:

Although some sellers are reluctant to provide a SPDS because they lack knowledge, a seller of real property that knows of facts materially affecting the value of the property that are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer, must disclose those facts to the buyer. Hill v. Jones, 151 Ariz. 81, 725 P.2d 1115 (App. 1986). Additionally, by entering into the purchase contract, the seller agreed to provide a SPDS within three (3) days of its acceptance. See Section 4a. The personal representative is therefore contractually obligated to provide the SPDS to the buyer even though she has virtually no knowledge of the property condition.