Buying a Home in Pennsylvania?

Five seller disclosure traps worth knowing about.

Pennsylvania law requires sellers of residential real estate to deliver a written disclosure statement to buyers before the agreement of sale is signed. The form looks routine — most buyers glance at it once and sign. That is a mistake.

The disclosure is one of the most important documents in the transaction, and the issues it does not resolve almost always become the issues the parties end up fighting over after closing. Five recurring traps account for most of the disclosure-related disputes that end up in court.

1. "Unknown" is not a magic word

The disclosure form gives sellers the option to check "unknown" for many items. Sellers who use that option assuming it protects them often find out it does not. Pennsylvania's Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law requires sellers to disclose what they actually know. Checking "unknown" when the seller in fact knew about a roof leak, a finished basement that floods, or a recurring termite problem is not a defense — it is evidence of misrepresentation.

2. Repairs that were never permitted

Many homeowners do work on their own properties — finished basements, decks, electrical upgrades, kitchen renovations — without pulling permits. The disclosure form asks specifically about additions, alterations, and improvements. Sellers who answer carelessly create two problems: a misrepresentation claim from the buyer, and a township or borough enforcement issue that can require the work to be opened up, inspected, or removed.

For buyers, unpermitted work is worth checking against township records before closing. For sellers, the cleanest answer is usually full disclosure — paired with a price adjustment if needed.

3. Water in places water does not belong

Water issues are the single most common subject of post-closing disclosure disputes. Sump pumps that run constantly, basements that took on water in past storms, slow leaks under bathroom floors, exterior grading that pitches toward the house — these are the kinds of conditions sellers often rationalize as "not a problem anymore" and leave off the form.

They are still required to be disclosed. A history of water intrusion is a known material defect even if the seller believes it has been fixed.

4. The neighbor problem

The disclosure form asks about boundary disputes, encroachments, easements, and shared facilities. These items get glossed over — partly because sellers do not always think of an informal arrangement (the neighbor parks on the corner of the driveway, the fence line is a few feet off the survey) as a "dispute," and partly because they do not want to scare off the buyer.

Buyers should ask directly. Sellers should answer honestly. An unresolved boundary or easement issue can affect title, financing, and resale value, and is rarely cheaper to deal with after closing than before.

5. Inspections that are not waivers

Sellers sometimes assume that a buyer's home inspection wipes the slate clean — that anything the inspector did or could have found becomes the buyer's problem. That is not the law. Pennsylvania's disclosure statute imposes an independent duty on sellers, and a buyer's inspection does not relieve a seller of liability for a known material defect that was concealed or misstated.

Inspections complement the disclosure form; they do not replace it.

What to take from this

For buyers, the disclosure form is a starting point for questions, not the end of the conversation. Anything that seems vague, surprising, or inconsistent with the property is worth probing before signing. For sellers, careful and complete disclosure is almost always cheaper than the alternative — particularly because Pennsylvania law allows successful disclosure plaintiffs to recover damages, costs, and in some cases attorney's fees.

This article is provided for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. To discuss a specific real estate matter, contact the Law Offices of Joel B. Albert, P.C. at 484-562-0473 or joel@albertlaw.com.