ATTENTION HOME SELLERS - Don't get sued because of bedroom misrepresentation!

According to errors and ommission insurance for Massachusetts Realtors, one of the areas that has drawn the most recent litigation is the misrepresentation of bedrooms when the home is serviced by a septic system.

Septic systems are rated according their bedroom capacity. When someone says the septic system is "rated" for four bedrooms it means that the system will handle the waste generated by four bedrooms.

Where sellers and Realtors get into to trouble is when there are rooms in a home that are counted and marketed as bedrooms when in fact they are not. As an example, you could have a home that has three bedrooms on the 2nd floor and another room on the 1st floor that is called a "bedroom". It may have a closet and a window large enough for a person to fit through - both requirements of being a bedroom.

The problem, however, is that if this home has a septic system that is rated for only three bedrooms, it is not a four bedroom home and should not be marketed as such.

The misrepresentation occurs when the seller or realtor represents this room to be a bedroom through various marketing channels such as the multiple listing service(MLS). The buyer then relies on this information, only to later find out through town hall or other means that in fact it is not a four bedroom home. There are certainly differences in market value between three and four bedroom homes regardless of the overall size of the house.

Another example would be a home that has had an addition and the room added is called a bedroom but there has been no corresponding "upgrade" to the septic system.

As a realtor, whenever there is any doubt about the bedroom count, records should be verified to determine the correct information. This information can be found at the local board of health. You can also view my in depth article about Massachusetts Title V and home selling by clicking the link.

For more great local real estate information check out my Real Estate website that details how to effectively market your home to the masses online at Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate.

Get your Title V done early

As a Realtor who is involved in quite a few home sales it continues to amaze me that many sellers are not getting their title v out of the way prior to putting their home on the market or at least within the 1st few weeks that it gets posted for sale.

The financial burden that a failed septic system creates is fairly substantial for most. Aside from the unexpected financial headache, it also involves digging up your yard to install a new system.
There is testing involved and then sending the system out for bid. I would recommend at least three bids, as in my experience they can vary greatly.

The worst part of this nightmare is if you already have your home under contact and then find out your system has failed. There are times when your new system has to be "raised" due to new title v regs. Most buyers don't want to find a large mound in their yard that they were not expecting.

Here is a neat little video that explains how a septic system works.

Septic System Anatomy

Sound Advice - get your title V done early!

Other related Real Estate articles:
Massachusetts septic bedroom count misrepresentation
Massachusetts Title V


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