To find disclosures on a house before buying, ask your buyer’s agent to pull the disclosure packet from the MLS, check the “listing documents” area on sites like Zillow or Redfin, request them directly from the listing agent or seller, and use the county recorder’s office to verify what you’re told. For any home built before 1978, federal law guarantees you a lead-based paint disclosure regardless of what state you’re in.
Ask a Buyer’s Agent to Pull the MLS Packet
The fastest route is through a buyer’s agent. Listing agents typically upload disclosure documents to the Multiple Listing Service as supplements attached to the property listing. Those files often aren’t visible on consumer-facing websites, but any licensed agent with MLS access can pull them and send them over, usually the same day you ask.
An active listing’s packet often bundles the seller’s condition disclosure, the lead-based paint form for pre-1978 homes, and any local hazard reports. Most agents deliver everything through a transaction management platform, so you get one link and can review the full set in one place.
Check the Listing Website, Then Message the Agent
Zillow, Redfin, and similar platforms sometimes post disclosures right on the property page. Look for a tab or link labeled “Listing Documents,” and check near the price history and tax sections. Whether these files appear depends entirely on whether the listing agent chose to make them public, and many don’t.
If nothing is posted, use the contact button on the listing page to message the listing agent, and be specific. A generic “I’m interested” note tends to trigger a sales call rather than documents. Ask by name for the seller’s property disclosure, the lead paint form if the home predates 1978, and any inspection reports or hazard disclosures on file.
When you do find documents uploaded to a third-party site, check that they’re complete: a legitimate disclosure carries the seller’s signature, a date, and answers to every question. Missing pages or blank answers deserve a follow-up. Treat what’s on the platform as a starting point and request the originals through your agent or the seller’s side before you decide anything.
Request Them Directly from the Seller in a FSBO Sale
When the home is for sale by owner, there’s no MLS listing and no agent to route the request through. Send a written request to the seller. Sellers in FSBO transactions carry the same legal obligation to provide disclosures as sellers using an agent, so put it in writing and be specific: the state-required property condition disclosure, lead paint disclosures for pre-1978 homes, and any inspection reports or repair records they have on hand.
If the seller ignores the request or claims they don’t need to provide anything, treat that as a warning. You can still piece together a partial picture through public records, but the absence of a formal disclosure makes a professional home inspection even more important.
The Lead-Based Paint Disclosure You’re Entitled To
One disclosure applies everywhere in the country regardless of state law. For any home built before 1978, federal law requires the seller to disclose known lead-based paint hazards, hand over any available inspection reports, and provide the EPA pamphlet titled “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property You also get a 10-day window to have the property tested for lead before you’re locked into the contract, though you and the seller can agree to shorten or lengthen that period.2US EPA. Real Estate Disclosures About Potential Lead Hazards
The seller must also include a Lead Warning Statement in the purchase contract, and both parties sign an acknowledgment confirming the disclosure happened. Sellers and their agents have to keep signed copies for at least three years after the sale.2US EPA. Real Estate Disclosures About Potential Lead Hazards
Penalties are steep. A seller who knowingly violates the lead disclosure rules can be held liable for three times the buyer’s actual damages,3eCFR. Subpart A – Disclosure of Known Lead-Based Paint Hazards Upon Sale or Lease of Residential Property and civil penalties per violation, adjusted for inflation, now reach $22,263.4Federal Register. Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment
Ask the Seller for the CLUE Report
Beyond the standard disclosure packet, ask the seller for the property’s CLUE report. CLUE stands for Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange, a database maintained by LexisNexis that tracks homeowners insurance claims filed on a property over the past seven years. The report shows the date, type of loss, and payout amount for each claim, and past claims for water damage, fire, or foundation problems can flag issues the seller’s disclosure form glosses over.
Buyers and their agents can’t pull a CLUE report directly. Only the current homeowner can request one from LexisNexis, so you have to ask the seller. A seller who hands it over readily is generally a good sign. Reluctance is worth noting.
Use County Public Records to Verify and Fill Gaps
Seller disclosure forms themselves usually aren’t recorded as public documents. You won’t find the disclosure statement itself at the county recorder’s office. But public records can fill in gaps and help you verify what a seller has told you.
County recorder offices maintain records of property deeds, liens, easements, and building permits. Those records can reveal an environmental lien, unpermitted work (shown by an obvious addition with no matching permit), or easements that would affect how you use the property. Most counties now offer online search portals where you can look up records using the property address or the Assessor’s Parcel Number, a unique identifier assigned to every parcel for tax purposes.
Basic online lookups are often free. Downloading or ordering certified copies costs a few dollars per page, and fees and turnaround times vary widely by jurisdiction. Some offices deliver digital copies within days; others take weeks, especially for older records that haven’t been digitized. If you’re on a tight contract timeline, start the public records search early and don’t rely on it as your only source.
Sales That May Not Come With a Disclosure
Not every home sale includes a disclosure. Most states exempt certain kinds of transactions: foreclosure sales, transfers through a court order such as a probate estate or divorce decree, sales by government entities, transfers between family members, and newly constructed homes that haven’t been lived in yet. The reasoning is that the selling party usually has no firsthand knowledge of the property’s condition.
If you’re buying a foreclosed home or an estate property, assume no seller disclosure is coming. The bank or executor typically hasn’t lived in the house and has nothing personal to disclose. In those situations, a home inspection and your own due diligence through public records are your only safety nets. Budget accordingly, because surprises are more common in exempt transactions.
Read Carefully, Then Bring in an Inspector
Sellers only have to disclose what they actually know. A foundation crack the seller never noticed won’t appear on the form. That’s why reading the disclosure carefully matters and why blank answers or vague responses are worth investigating with a professional.
A disclosure is a statement about what the seller knows. A home inspection is an independent assessment of actual condition by a trained professional. They overlap in places but serve different purposes. A seller might genuinely not know about a deteriorating sewer line, an undersized electrical panel, or moisture behind a shower wall, and none of those issues would land on the disclosure form. Skipping the inspection because the disclosure looked clean is one of the more expensive mistakes buyers make.
Read the disclosure first, then hand it to your inspector. It gives them a head start on where to look harder. If the seller noted a past water intrusion that was “repaired,” your inspector knows exactly which wall, seam, and corner to scrutinize.
If You Discover a Seller Hid Something
If you find out after closing that the seller knew about a serious defect and didn’t disclose it, you have legal options. Specifics depend on your state, but the common remedies fall into a few categories:
- Repair cost recovery, where you sue for the cost of fixing the concealed defect. This is the most straightforward claim and the one courts see most often.
- Rescission, where a court unwinds the sale in cases of serious fraud, returning the property to the seller and your money to you. Rare, and typically reserved for egregious situations.
- Damages beyond repairs, where some states allow punitive damages or statutory penalties on top of actual repair costs if the concealment was intentional.
The hard part of any non-disclosure claim is proving the seller actually knew. A form where the seller checked “no” next to water damage, paired with contractor invoices showing the seller paid for water damage repairs two years earlier, is the kind of evidence that makes these cases winnable. Keep every document you receive during the transaction.
The federal lead-paint disclosure carries its own built-in remedies: treble damages plus per-violation civil penalties above $22,000.3eCFR. Subpart A – Disclosure of Known Lead-Based Paint Hazards Upon Sale or Lease of Residential Property That makes lead one of the few areas where federal law gives buyers real teeth no matter which state they’re in.