Ask the Realtor: Does the seller have to disclose all property reports in their possession?

Any real estate transaction contains lots of paperwork, much of which are disclosures.  A property seller has an affirmative duty to disclose anything and everything that they know about a property.  I once had a seller disclose that a house was haunted.  Seriously.  The buyers bought it anyway.

So if a seller has property condition reports from another, earlier escrow, those must be given to the buyer, too, right? Ethically, yes.  Legally, no. 

I know; this is really surprising, and I just learned the legal answer myself.  Part of the contractual legalese says the seller only discloses "known, material facts" and doesn't specify reports. And some unethical agents will say that they never read a particular report and therefore can't possibly "know" what's in it.  I call bullshit, but there it legally is.  Property sellers, your buyers will likely find out everything about your property anyway -- why risk their wrath? And a lawsuit? Buyers, think twice about getting into a transaction with a seller that appears to withhold information -- if they seem to be concealing something, they probably are!