
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 28, 1993                   TAG: 9303290450
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

NEW LAW REQUIRES DISCLOSURE OR `AS IS' DISCLAIMER

A new Virginia law to take effect in July will allow the sale of homes "as is" if the disclaimer is given before the seller reaches a contract with a buyer.

Otherwise, the buyer can cancel the deal three to five days after getting the disclaimer.

"This is a consumer-oriented step," said Anne Lee Stevens, president of the Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors.

The Virginia Residential Property Disclosure Act sets up a standard disclosure form for sellers to give to buyers before a deal is reached. The form asks sellers to evaluate, to the best of their knowledge, the condition of such items as the roof and heating system.

Stevens said the ethical restraints on real estate agents has always required them to disclose any information they had about a house to a buyer.

"There are certainly incidents where the facts aren't exposed to agents therefore, we have not been able in the pass them on to the buyer," Stevens said.

Every seller, including people selling their own homes without a real estate agent, will have to either fill out the disclosure form or present would-be buyers with a disclaimer that says they are selling the house "as is."

David Liniger, chairman of a Tidewater real estate agency, said he thinks the new law will help reduce the number of lawsuits between buyers and sellers.

"When you have full and total disclosure, it takes away the litigation because there's nothing to litigate," he said.

Eric A. Hauser, a Virginia Beach attorney, said the act might shield real estate agents if disclosures are handled properly. But he wasn't sure whether it would protect sellers from disgruntled buyers.

"There have been suits against agents for the failure to disclose," he said. "This is insulating them somewhat as long as they make sure the statute is complied with."

Virginia is only the fifth state to require disclosures or disclaimers, said Joan L. White, assistant director of the Virginia real estate board.

The General Assembly passed the law at the urging of the Virginia Association of Realtors.

Palmateer conceded that "as is" disclaimers could have a chilling effect on some sales. "A lot will depend on how the real estate agent presents it," she said.

Staff writer Charlyne H. McWilliams contributed to this story.

by CNB