If you are selling a home in Media, Pennsylvania, this summer, a fast transaction does not reduce your disclosure duties. Pennsylvania law generally requires you to disclose known material defects before you and the buyer sign an agreement of transfer. Gibson & Perkins, PC helps property owners in Media, Delaware County, and nearby areas review real estate documents, address known property concerns, and prepare for closing with a clearer written record.
Summer storms, heavy rain, air-conditioning use, landscaping work, and last-minute repairs can reveal conditions that were not obvious when you first completed the disclosure form. If you provide an inaccurate answer, omit a known material defect, or fail to notify the buyer when later events make an earlier answer inaccurate, you may face a buyer claim after closing.
Your safer approach is to avoid guessing, minimizing, or relying only on a verbal explanation. Read the disclosure form carefully, gather supporting records, describe known material facts in writing, and notify the buyer if new information changes an earlier response.
What Pennsylvania Sellers Must Disclose 
Pennsylvania’s Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law applies to many residential transfers, subject to listed exceptions. You generally must provide the buyer with a signed and dated property disclosure statement before you and the buyer sign the agreement of transfer. The required form addresses subjects such as the roof, basement, structure, additions, water and sewage systems, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, electrical service, drainage, hazardous substances, association matters, title issues, and stormwater facilities.
The law does not require you to perform a new technical investigation solely to complete the form. You must answer based on the information available to you, avoid statements that you know or have reason to know are false, deceptive, or misleading, and disclose known material defects.
For help with contracts, disclosures, title concerns, and closing terms, review the firm’s real estate services:
https://www.gibperk.com/real-estate-attorneys-in-media-pa/
Mistake 1: Treating the Disclosure Form as a Quick Checklist
Treating the disclosure form as a quick checklist can lead to vague, incomplete, or inconsistent answers. This risk increases when showings are already scheduled or you expect an offer soon.
Use answers such as “unknown,” “not applicable,” and “no” only when they accurately reflect your knowledge. If your basement took on water twice during heavy summer rain, checking “no” because the floor is dry today may create a serious dispute. If a roof leak was patched, consider whether the history of the leak, its location, and the repair belong in your response.
When the form asks for an explanation, provide enough detail to identify the issue, location, timing, and repair status. A buyer should not have to guess what “fixed years ago” means.
Professionalism is the Word
I highly Recommend Gibson & Perkins. I have used their services for approximately 6 years now and been through a few cases together with very positive outcomes. Personally, I have used Paul Fellman and Walter Timby on those occasions. Both, as a team & separately these Attorneys were wonderful to work with and easily accessible to reach if I had any questions. Professionalism is the word that comes to mind to describe the firm, as a whole. Always completely prepared for any surprises that may pop up during a trial. They were well versed on all pertinent info pertaining to each case. As I client, I always felt I was an integral part of the team, not an after-thought, that had to be brought up to speed a half hour before the trial started. I could not recommend this firm and Mr. Fellman and Mr. Timby any higher.Very Satisfied
I hired Paul Fellman after speeking to several different lawyers from different law firms because he was the most sincere. Paul did an excellent job on my landlord tenant issue I had on my rental property. He was there for me from the beginning to the end of the whole ordeal. I was very satisfied and I highly recommend him and his firm.
Mistake 2: Assuming a Repair Erases the Defect
A repair may correct or reduce a problem, but it does not automatically make the history irrelevant. If you replaced drywall after a leak, installed a sump pump after water entry, treated termites, repaired a foundation wall, or replaced part of a sewer line, the prior condition may still need to be disclosed when it remains material or relates to a question on the form.
Useful records may include:
- Contractor invoices and warranties
• Inspection and treatment reports
• Permits and certificates
• Insurance claim records
• Photographs taken before and after the work
• Written maintenance recommendations
Pennsylvania law may protect a seller from liability for certain inaccuracies or omissions when the seller reasonably believed a defect had been corrected or relied on information from a public agency, home inspector, contractor, or properly registered or licensed professional, provided the statutory conditions are met and the seller did not know the information was wrong. Written reports provide a stronger record than a casual recollection.
For related guidance, review:
https://www.gibperk.com/media-real-estate-attorney-discusses-common-mistakes-in-real-estate/
Seller Reminder
A repair record can show what happened, who performed the work, and what the contractor recommended. Keep the record with your disclosure documents.
Mistake 3: Failing to Update the Buyer Before Settlement
Failing to update the buyer before settlement can create liability even when your original disclosure was accurate. If an act, occurrence, or agreement later makes disclosed information inaccurate before final settlement, Pennsylvania law requires you to notify the buyer.
Summer conditions can trigger this duty. A storm may cause water to enter a basement previously described as dry. An air-conditioning system may fail during a heat wave. A tree may damage a fence, roof, or utility line. A repair may expose hidden rot or structural damage.
Do not wait for the final walk-through and assume the buyer will discover the condition. Notify the appropriate parties promptly and in writing. The agreement of sale may determine whether the buyer can inspect the condition, request a repair, negotiate a credit, or exercise another contractual right.
For more information about agreement terms, review:
Mistake 4: Minimizing Water, Drainage, and Moisture Problems
Minimizing water, drainage, and moisture problems can create a costly dispute because the source may be hidden and the damage may extend beyond the visible area. Summer weather can expose roof leaks, grading problems, foundation seepage, stormwater concerns, mold odors, failed sump pumps, and overloaded drainage systems.
Do not describe recurring water entry as “minor dampness” when the property required repeated cleanup, repair, or equipment. State the known facts, including where the water appeared, how often it occurred, which conditions triggered it, what work was completed, and whether the condition returned.
Review the entire property, including the roof, chimney flashing, windows, crawl spaces, yard grading, retaining walls, gutters, downspouts, sewer laterals, wells, septic systems, and stormwater facilities.
Mistake 5: Omitting Additions, Permits, Boundaries, or Restrictions
Omitting additions, permits, boundaries, or restrictions can leave the buyer with unexpected use, title, zoning, or repair concerns. A finished basement, deck, porch enclosure, shed, pool, retaining wall, electrical upgrade, bathroom, or converted garage may raise questions about permits, inspections, structural changes, setbacks, zoning, or association approval.
Do not assume an older project is irrelevant. Gather the records available to you and disclose what you know. If you do not know whether a prior owner obtained a permit, state that lack of knowledge instead of offering an unsupported assurance.
Shared driveways, fences that do not follow the deed line, utility easements, private roads, association restrictions, and unrecorded agreements may also affect the buyer’s use of the property.
For additional agreement-of-sale guidance, review:
Mistake 6: Forgetting Federal Lead-Based Paint Disclosures
Forgetting federal lead-based paint disclosures can create a separate compliance problem. Federal disclosure rules apply to most housing built before 1978, subject to specific exceptions.
Before the buyer becomes obligated under the contract, sellers and agents generally must:
- Disclose known information about lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards
• Provide available lead records and reports
• Give the buyer the required federal lead hazard pamphlet
• Include the required lead warning and acknowledgment language
• Give the buyer a 10-day opportunity to conduct a lead inspection or risk assessment
The parties may agree in writing to a different inspection period, and the buyer may waive the opportunity in writing. A Pennsylvania property disclosure statement does not replace the federal lead documentation. If you are selling an older home in Media or another Delaware County community, confirm that the required forms, records, signatures, and dates are complete.
Mistake 7: Believing “As Is” Language Prevents Every Claim
Believing “as is” language prevents every claim can expose you to avoidable risk. An “as is” clause may allocate certain property-condition risks, but it does not give you permission to conceal a known material defect or make a false or misleading statement.
Pennsylvania’s disclosure statute also states that its listed requirements do not limit other disclosure duties that may exist to avoid fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit. Your agreement of sale, inspection contingency, disclosure statement, repair addenda, invoices, and written communications should tell a consistent story.
Risk increases when the disclosure form says there were no water problems, an email refers to recurring seepage, and an invoice documents repeated flooding.
What a Buyer Lawsuit May Seek
A buyer lawsuit may claim that you knew about a material defect, failed to disclose it accurately, and caused a measurable financial loss. Under Pennsylvania’s disclosure statute, a willful or negligent violation can result in liability for the buyer’s actual damages caused by that violation.
A statutory action under that chapter generally must be filed within two years after final settlement. Other legal theories may have different elements, defenses, remedies, and filing deadlines.
A dispute may involve claimed repair costs, loss of property value, damaged belongings, or temporary housing expenses. Buyers may also incur inspection and expert expenses while investigating a claim, although whether those expenses are recoverable depends on the applicable law and facts. The outcome may turn on disclosure forms, inspection reports, repair records, photographs, insurance documents, emails, text messages, and testimony about what you knew and when you knew it.
A Practical Summer Disclosure Checklist
Before listing your property or accepting an offer, take these steps:
- Read the entire disclosure form and answer every applicable question
• Review inspection reports, invoices, permits, warranties, and insurance claims
• Identify recurring leaks, drainage problems, pest treatment, structural work, and system failures
• Confirm the history of additions, renovations, pools, decks, sheds, and finished spaces
• Check whether a recent storm, repair, or system failure changed an earlier response
• Describe known material facts with specific dates, locations, and repair details
• Keep buyer communications and repair promises in writing
• Complete federal lead disclosures when required
• Preserve the signed disclosure package and supporting records after closing
Discuss Your Home Sale Before Closing
Careful disclosure supports the buyer’s ability to make an informed decision and gives you a clearer written record. Gibson & Perkins, PC assists clients in Media, Pennsylvania, throughout Delaware County, and nearby areas with residential agreements of sale, seller disclosures, title concerns, transaction disputes, and closing issues. The firm handles both transaction documents and related disputes, which can help you address connected legal concerns with one legal team.
To discuss a planned home sale or a disclosure concern, call (610) 557-1977.
tel:+16105571977
You may also contact the firm at:
https://www.gibperk.com/contact/
This article is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult an attorney about your specific situation.