Does a seller need to disclose future planned road near property? (disclosure, agent)
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If a seller is selling a piece of land that is very rural (at the moment), do they have to disclose that there is a long-range state/county plan for a 4 lane road that will abut the property as the area develops ? Of course the road could always get re-routed - but right now it's set to go within 70' of where a house would be built. Caveat Emptor?
We had this situation when I worked as an agent. A new highway was going to be built. Some of it was new terrain and some of it was upgrading and changes to the existing highway. People in the area were very aware of it. People relocating from other areas would not have been aware.
Sellers absolutely had to disclose the information if they had received any type of government notification about it.
In came up numerous times with buyers and sellers. In one instance a 10 foot easement was being created along the front of the property. The seller, and I, had to disclose this. We included all information with a sales packet and the price the state was paying for the property. The property sold without a problem. In another instance the seller had not received any notice as he was outside the build area by about 1000 feet. This time we had the information available about the route of the highway and where it was located relative to the property when there were questions.
When I worked with buyers I always informed them of the proximity of the highway if it "might" impact them directly by property being taken, a road accessibility change, or even more highway noise. I had a map of the planned route available to show them. In some instances buyers decided to steer clear of a house because it was too close to the highway. Others thought it was far enough away so it didn't matter.
I suspect in most states some type of disclosure would be required IF you have received any notifications. If it's just now in the planning stages and widely reported in the local news, I personally think it would be best to have the information ready for any questions.
This long-range highway plan has been on the books for over 15 years. The only reason we uncovered it was that there is a proposed development nearby which showed a road plan that resembled a thoroughfare. Doing some digging, it matched up exactly to the long-range "belt-line" road plan promoted by the county/state. To makes matters worse for a perspective buyer - the road going by this lot would be elevated somewhat to go over a small stream and come off of a 15' grade difference - so you'd be staring at and dealing with a bridge-type structure and constant traffic. Don't know if the owner was notified or not.
It was advertising as a "quiet spot to build your dream home"... but whomever buys it better do their homework. Caveat Emptor. Tks for the replies.
In at least some areas, there are several addenda to contracts that will say buyer is responsible for looking into, if they wish, things like the six offender list, the crime reports, etc...and any future area development. The contact info is given as well. Where to look up or go and look at permits pulled, etc.
A long-planned freeway with potential for abutting the property is a disclosure item, and a nightmare for any agent if not disclosed.
And, if it is public information, so both listing agent and buyer's agent are on the hook for it.
And sometimes, all are dead without anything happening.
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