Florida Statute 689.25 – Foul Play Disclosure in a Home Sale

The brake didn’t work, and the car plowed through the garage door and through the home. Our real estate agent drove separately and didn’t see what occurred but that is what happened. Fortunately, our poor Buyers were not hurt and crawled out from under the garage like they were in a military zone.

I told this story to old friends in Boca Raton a few days ago over dinner as they like to hear the weird real estate stories. My friend said, “that is nothing, I have one for you.” Her Mom has a place that she rents out since her mom moved away overseas. She found a wonderful young professional couple a few years ago who paid their bills on time for 2 years and never said boo.

Recently, one spouse said they were getting a divorce and would be moving out. Then my friend told us the shocker that occurred. The other spouse allegedly committed foul play (not on the spouse and not in the house) and is a big national story. So, now she is dealing with the police and search for the weapon. Her question for me is if she sells, is that a disclosure she must make to a potential client???

The answer is foul play is not a material fact in the state of Florida. The reasoning is someone passing could happen anywhere and for lots of different reasons. In this case, nothing even happened in the house.

Here are some other examples that the statute clarifies. My father-in-law went through hospice and was surrounded by loved ones in his home a few weeks before his passing at their home. President Jimmy Carter is doing the same thing right now. Does it make sense to disclose their deaths which really are a positive end of life?

Our Golden Retriever, Savannah passed away in our home as I didn’t want to put her down as it was too fast when I found out she was sick. One could say that is a disclosure. Downtown West Palm Beach does ghost tours. Should haunted houses be a disclosure? Depending on the Buyer, people have wildly different viewpoints of what they consider good or bad energy. And good or bad energy can make or break a transaction.

There are Buyers who won’t touch a home that they feel has bad energy. I had a house that had foul play in a county club a few years ago. The clients asked us not to disclose per the Florida state statute. Still, everyone found out because the neighbors and the community knew, and the gossip was not controllable. It was a difficult house in that it needed to be remodeled, had no view, and the wrong membership type. It was not an investor type of home and needed an end user. The sellers fixed it up and had it at way below market price. Still, the stigmatism was beyond difficult. Maybe a dozen buyers put in offers only to have a spouse decide to back out of the deal before we found a single person investor.

Florida Statute 689.25 Reads…..

689.25 Failure to disclose homicide, suicide, deaths, or diagnosis of HIV or AIDS infection in an occupant of real property.—

(1)(a) The fact that an occupant of real property is infected or has been infected with human immunodeficiency virus or diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome is not a material fact that must be disclosed in a real estate transaction.

(b) The fact that a property was, or was at any time suspected to have been, the site of a homicide, suicide, or death is not a material fact that must be disclosed in a real estate transaction.

(2) A cause of action shall not arise against an owner of real property, his or her agent, an agent of a transferee of real property, or a person licensed under chapter 475 for the failure to disclose to the transferee that the property was or was suspected to have been the site of a homicide, suicide, or death or that an occupant of that property was infected with human immunodeficiency virus or diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

History.—s. 46, ch. 88-380; s. 51, ch. 2003-164.

Buyers who don’t find out about something they feel should be disclosed feel slighted. It always puts a Realtor in an uncomfortable bind. The Florida statute is the law and it’s up to your Seller on what you should reveal.

Years ago in another local country club, one Realtor I knew found a unique way to break the ice with a foul play disclosure. The foul play story ended up becoming a Lifetime bad movie. The one spouse shot the other spouse like a dozen times. The Realtor did a ridiculous reenactment of the 12 shots. The tasteless humor worked as it broke the tension and let the Buyer not be in such a serious bad energy situation. The house sold and dealing with the situation head on in an offbeat manner alleviated the bad energy.

Other states have different statues. California has one of the strictest statutes, requiring disclosing of all deaths in the last 3 years, including known natural deaths of residents. New Jersey does not require disclosure of “psychologically disturbing facts”, including murder and suicide. New Jersey does require disclosure if the death is tangled with the home itself. If the home had a faulty staircase and the buyer fell and died because of the staircase, then that would need to be disclosed However, death must also be disclosed if the buyer ask. 50 states. 50 different sets of rules.

All I can say is if you and your spouse end up having a serious fight, its best to call 561-903-TALK instead of the foul play. That’s my wife, Veronica’s phone number. She is an LMHC (licensed mental health counselor) and really good at solving disputes. Plus, what a great way for me to give her a plug. And better to see her than have a new home in the slammer.

Jeff Lichtenstein, originally from Chicago, got his start in the home furnishings textile business where he traveled over 35 weeks a year selling fabrics. After the family business was sold, Jeff moved to Florida and became a real estate agent. Today he is the owner and broker of Echo Fine Properties, a luxury residential brokerage voted best brokerage of the year. Jeff manages a non-traditional model of real estate that mimics a traditional business model. Echo has 80 agents, an average of one million dollars per transaction and over 500 million in annual sales. Between traveling for work and annual family trips to national parks with his wife and 2 now adult children, Jeff has visited 49 states. He is also one of the few Chicago White Sox fans you’ll ever meet. Some publications he has been quoted in.

Feel free to ask him a question directly at [email protected] including a complementary valuation of your home.

Posted in Jeff's Journal, Laws and Contracts, Real Estate Tips on July 8, 2023 at 6:59 am.

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Florida Statute 689.25 – Foul Play Disclosure in a Home Sale