Is Arkansas a Buyer Beware State?

When buying or selling a property, a lot of things come into play outside of money alone. One of the biggest things that you need to make sure of is to closely check the property you're looking at in the real estate market.

Today, we visit the Natural State to understand if there are considerable opportunities for you to get the most out of your new home and unpack the disclosure laws in Arkansas.

Is Arkansas a buyer beware state?

Buyer Really Beware

When it comes to real estate sales in Arkansas, as a potential buyer you need to process is making sure to check the property for any possible defects that may come with it. Why?

Arkansas is one of the states that still practice what's called a caveat emptor rule. This rule simply puts all responsibility on the prospective buyer when it comes to making yourself aware of the information on the property.

This is because sellers aren't required to disclose everything on the real estate transactions they put out in the market. Other than the property having lead-based paint as recommended by the Seller Responsibility to Disclose Lead-Based Paint Hazards.

The caveat emptor rule is mostly known as "buyer beware" because don't have requirements to inform the buyer of risks that they may face.

Basically, whatever they want to put out there is absolutely okay according to state laws. They are not really required by law to complete any disclosure form to detail any defect that the property may have — generally, it's going to depend on the seller's discretion.

The caveat emptor rule also means that the state won't compensate you, a buyer, for any defects you found in the property after the purchase.

However, there's an exception to the rule. 

Real Estate Agents Beware

If you're a real estate agent who's selling a property, it's important to know that you are expected by law to perform a form of the disclosure law. One of the steps is to complete the "Arkansas Seller's Property Disclosure Form" and in this form, you're expected to disclose any and all material information about the property.

As an agent, you will need to be responsible when it comes to informing the buyer of issues that are found in the property regardless if they ask about it or not.

This even includes disclosing whether or not the basement gets flooded. Henceforth, this also means that you are expected to know how often the property gets flooded, its flood zone, other flood data, and other environmental matters.

These agents actually face a lot of risk of losing their license if they were unable to perform this duty and disclose any and all defects they know about the property.

Although, keep in mind that neither the seller, agent, nor buyer is required to dish money for you to have the property go through an inspection.

Asking the Right Questions

As a buyer, since Arkansas is one of the caveat emptor states, you want to make sure to ask the right questions. It's most likely that both seller and agent will be more than happy to answer a question you have about the property.

This will also help you set your expectations on the flood risks that the property is facing. Some things you want to ask are how many flood claims are made for the property, how much flooding does it get, or how severe are these floodings.

This is important especially when it comes to flood claims that stay with the life of the property. If you want to know the impacts of claims for your flood insurance, watch our video below on claim variable:

Understanding the property's flood risk will also give you an insight into the possible flood insurance options or lack thereof you will have. It's important to remember that Private Flood can pick and choose what risks they will cover.

As a seller or agent, disclosing as much as you can about the property — though not required — will always have long-term benefits. One of the great things to come out of being transparent with your potential buyer is that you build good relationships and allow the purchase to become smoother.

Always remember that setting proper expectations prevent negative experiences. Eventually, once the new homeowner settles into the property you're selling, they will only thank you.

It's better than the alternative where you might get sued for breach of contract because the buyer felt they are getting less than what they expected. Despite not having a disclosure law, it's important to note that this can still happen and you will have to hire a lawyer and pay for them.

If you've got questions on how disclosure laws in Arkansas impact your flood insurance and how due diligence can help save you money, click below to call us:

You can also visit our Flood Learning Center where we try to answer all your flood insurance questions: