Our neighbors are nudists. Must we tell potential buyers when we sell our house?
Question: When our children are jumping on the trampoline in our backyard, they can sometimes see nude people socializing in our neighbor’s backyard. When we asked another neighbor about these parties, we were told our next-door neighbors are members of a nudist group, and that they have gatherings in their backyard on the weekends with the prohibition of any alcoholic beverages. We are planning on selling our home at the end of this year. Will we have to disclose to potential buyers these nudist parties by our next-door neighbors?
Answer: The law is that a seller generally has to disclose material and adverse facts about a home and the surrounding neighborhood to a buyer. For example, neighbors walking nude in the front yard is probably a material and adverse fact requiring disclosure. Neighbors on the weekends walking nude in their own backyard, however, and visible only to your children jumping on a trampoline, is probably not a material and adverse fact.
Note: Sellers and their real estate agents spend hours discussing what constitutes a material and adverse fact about a home that must be disclosed to a buyer. The law, however, is simple: If it is a material and adverse fact, it must be disclosed to the buyer. If it is not a material and adverse fact, then why not disclose it to the buyer?