What Is a Seller's Disclosure?

Indiana is a disclosure state for residential real estate. Sellers of most residential property must complete a standardized state form reporting what they know about the home's condition, and provide it to the buyer.

What It Covers

The form walks through the major systems and known issues — foundation and structure, roof, plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, water and sewer, and known hazards or past damage. The seller answers based on their actual knowledge.

That last point is the whole thing. A seller who genuinely doesn't know about a problem isn't lying by not disclosing it. The form captures knowledge, not condition.

What It Is Not

It is not a warranty and not an inspection. A clean disclosure doesn't mean the home has no problems — it means the seller isn't aware of any. Plenty of significant defects (aging mechanicals, hidden water intrusion, undersized electrical) are invisible to an owner who has simply lived there without incident.

This is exactly why the inspection contingency exists, and why waiving an inspection because the disclosure looked clean is a mistake. Read the disclosure carefully and inspect.

For Buyers: How to Read It

Read it before you write your offer if you can. Look for anything marked as a known defect, anything left blank, and anything referencing past repairs — repaired issues are worth asking about, since they tell you where the house has had trouble. Bring the disclosure to your inspector; it helps them know where to look.

For Sellers: Be Honest

The temptation to under-disclose is understandable and it is a bad idea. Failing to disclose a known material defect creates real legal exposure that long outlives the closing, and problems usually surface during inspection anyway — where they damage trust and cost you negotiating leverage.

Disclosing known issues up front generally produces a cleaner transaction: buyers price it in, and you avoid renegotiating from a weak position. If you're preparing to list, our selling guide and pre-listing prep page cover this.

Exemptions

Certain transfers are exempt — some estate, foreclosure, and court-ordered situations among them. If you're selling an inherited property or handling an estate sale, confirm what applies to your situation with your attorney.