Selling a House in Ohio

Selling a house is one of the most significant legal transactions you'll ever participate in. It's important to know your legal rights and understand the process.

Working With a Real Estate Agent

In Ohio, real estate agents may act as a seller's agent, a buyer's agent, or represent both parties as a dual agent. State law requires Ohio real estate agents to provide you with an agency disclosure statement, which discloses the agency relationships existing among those involved in a real estate sales transaction or a potential transaction and describes the duties owed by real estate agents to their clients.

Real estate agents have what's called a "fiduciary duty" to the party who they are legally representing, in this case, the seller, which means that they owe specific duties to the seller. A fiduciary relationship is based on trust and loyalty. In Ohio, this means that all of the broker's loyalties run to the seller.

The seller's agent looks out for the interests of the seller. This agent gives undivided loyalty to the seller and keeps the seller's information confidential. This agent guides the seller in setting the listing price, explains how your home will be marketed and advertised, explains all the paperwork so that you can understand it, and secures qualified buyers for your home.

Under Ohio's Residential Disclosure Law, the seller of a home, except in limited circumstances, is required to disclose to prospective buyers certain information concerning the condition of the home. The information must be disclosed on the Residential Property Disclosure Form. The seller's disclosure contained in the form is limited to conditions known to the seller and is not a substitute for a professional inspection of the home.

The Residential Property Disclosure Form is available through The Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing.

The Ohio Residential Property Disclosure Form requires the seller to indicate any known problems or defects of certain features and structural components of a house. The form requires information about the following:

• Water supply
• Sewer system
• Roof
• Basement
• Structural components
• Mechanical systems
• Termites
• Presence of hazardous materials
• Drainage
• Code violations
• Wells
• Boundary lines
• Encroachments
• Shared driveway or party walls
• Flood plain
• Lake Erie Coastal Erosion Area
• Zoning violations or nonconforming uses
• Assessments
• Homeowner's association
• Historic building district
• Fire or smoke damage
• Water intrusion or mold
• Water quantity and quality

In houses built prior to 1978, the seller is to provide notice that if lead based paint exists, it may present a danger, provide a lead-based paint disclosure form, and provide information on hazards from inspections in the sellers possession.

Ohio law does not provide a penalty for a seller who fails to disclose known defects, but the disclosure law does provide a chance for the buyer to rescind or cancel the purchase if the disclosure form is not provided before entering into the contract.

Purchase Agreements

When you've got a serious buyer, you'll receive a written offer to purchase your home, sometimes called a "residential purchase agreement," "purchase agreement," or "purchase contract."

This agreement is the contract between the buyer and the seller for the purchase of the home. This document should specify all the terms and conditions governing the sale of the home, including the date of possession, and should reflect in detail the complete agreement between the parties of the transaction. Both the buyer and seller sign the purchase agreement, and all changes and concessions must be initialed by the parties.

It should contain an accurate description of the property and all of the terms of the sale, including the price, the terms of payment, the type of deed to be given, the date of possession, provisions for the furnishing of title evidence, proration of real estate taxes and casualty losses, financing and inspections. In many cases, provisions for items of personal property or fixtures may be needed.

If an offer to purchase is presented to you, it is your decision to accept or reject the offer. You won't have very long to decide whether or not to take the offer or propose a counteroffer so it's important to be informed ahead of time.

Common counter-proposal items include:

• A higher purchase price
• A higher deposit
• Giving buyer less time to remove contingencies
• Excluding certain items from the sale
• Providing you move in time to vacate the house after the sale is closed
• A clause making it a contingency that your attorney approve the contract
• A "liquidated damages clause" that details how much money the buyer will owe you if the buyer backs out of the deal for reasons other than the contingencies listed in the contract

Legal Title Issues

Your Ohio real estate lawyer or title company will investigate the legal title of the property you want to sell, and may find title issues you'll need to understand.

In Ohio, for example, an implied easement may be present where there has been a prior grant of an easement in a valid document that is too ambiguous to create an express easement. An implied easement exists where a person grants lands to which there is no accessible right-of-way except over her or his land, or retains land that is inaccessible except over the land which the person conveys. In such instances a right-of-way is presumed to have been granted or reserved. Such an implied grant or easement in lands or estates exists where there is no other reasonable and practicable way of accessing the property, and same is reasonably necessary for the beneficial use or enjoyment of the part granted or reserved.

Your property may also be subject to a "lien," a charge on the property to satisfy a debt or other obligation owed by the current owner of the property that has been recorded in the public records.

In Ohio, liens on a piece of property may include:

• Mechanic's lien
• Construction lien
• Tax liens
• Unpaid federal and state tax lien
• Unpaid child support
• In a divorce case, the court may award one spouse ownership of the marital home but grant the other spouse a lien on the property

Closing Costs

In Ohio, you may need to pay for the following charges - called "closing costs" - at the time you sell your home:

• Satisfying the remaining balance on loan (if house not paid in full)
• Transfer taxes
• Documentary stamps on the deed
• Title insurance
• Property taxes (prorated)
• Broker's commission
• Home inspection

Specific Performance

In Ohio, a seller who agrees to sell a particular property must do so unless the buyer fails to meet all the terms of the purchase agreement. This is called "specific performance." Specific performance is the court-ordered performance of each party's duties under a contract. Courts often award specific performance as an alternative to damages when the subject matter of the contract is unique. This is the case with real estate purchase agreements because each parcel of land is unique. If you have second thoughts on a particular sale, you'll want to immediately contact an attorney.