The Agent Visual Inspection Disclosure (AVID) has become a must have disclosure for most firms. This is to inform the prospective buyer and agent what the agent has visually inspected/noticed about the property. The agent is not acting as an inspector or a contractor in this case. This is the easiest disclosure to complete!
– The AVID must be completed by the agent only, not the buyer nor the seller. Others cannot make additions or request changes to be made on the AVID either.
– The agent must only inspect the areas of the property that are accessible and visible to the naked eye. (Agent shouldn’t inspect the plumbing, roof, appliances or move things)
– The agent must only mention what they see and not assume what it is or caused by. For example, if the agent notices a dark or wet stain on the ceiling, the agent cannot say ‘stain on ceiling caused by a leak). The agent is not an inspector to be able to detrmine what the stain is caused by. In this case, all the agent would say is ‘dark or wet stain on the ceiling’. Another example: If the agent notices a stain in the bathroom that looks like mold, the agent is not in the position to determine if that is in fact mold. All the agent can state is ‘black spots on the bathroom ceiling’.
– The agent cannot suggest any repairs or recommendations on the AVID. Again, the agent cannot act as a contractor, appraiser or inspector on the AVID.
– If the property is in perfect shape, the agent still needs to complete the AVID. In this case, the AVID cannot be left blank and just signed, it cannot have ‘good’, ‘fair’, ‘new’ or ‘N/A’ words for the visual inspection. The appropriate verbiage in this case is ‘No visible damage’.
Jenny Manukyan is the Transaction Manager here at JohnHart Real Estate, as well as an agent herself. Being the supervisor and "linchpin" in our short sale operations, has endowed Jenny with invaluable knowledge; and here on the JohnHart Gazette she hopes to share that with you all!
