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§ 891501.

Applicability of real estate transfer disclosure requirement provisions.

(1) The provisions of

Sections 891501 through 891523 apply only with respect to transfers

by sale, exchange, installment land sale contract, lease with an option to purchase, any

other option to purchase or ground lease coupled with improvements, of real property on

which a dwelling unit is located, or residential stock cooperative improved with or

consisting of not less than one (1) nor more than four (4) dwelling units, when the

execution of such transfers is by, or with the aid of, a duly licensed real estate broker or

salesperson.

(2) There are specifically excluded from the provisions of

Sections 891501 through 891523:

(a) Transfers pursuant to court order, including, but not limited to, transfers ordered by a

probate court in administration of an estate, transfers pursuant to a writ of execution,

transfers by any foreclosure sale, transfers by a trustee in bankruptcy, transfers by

eminent domain, and transfers resulting from a decree for specific performance.

(b) Transfers to a mortgagee by a mortgagor or successor in interest who is in default,

transfers to a beneficiary of a deed of trust by a trustor or successor in interest who is in

default, transfers by any foreclosure sale after default, in an obligation secured by a

mortgage, transfers by a sale under a power of sale or any foreclosure sale under a

decree of foreclosure after default in an obligation secured by a deed of trust or secured

by any other instrument containing a power of sale, or transfers by a mortgagee or a

beneficiary under a deed of trust who has acquired the real property at a sale

conducted pursuant to a power of sale under a mortgage or deed of trust or a sale

pursuant to a decree of foreclosure or has acquired the real property by a deed in lieu

of foreclosure.

(c) Transfers by a fiduciary in the course of the administration of a decedent’s estate,

guardianship, conservatorship or trust.

(d) Transfers from one co

owner to one or more other coowners.

(e) Transfers made to a spouse, or to a person or persons in the lineal line of consanguinity

of one or more of the transferors.

(f) Transfers between spouses resulting from a decree of dissolution of marriage or a decree

of legal separation or from a property settlement agreement incidental to such a

decree.

(g) Transfers or exchanges to or from any governmental entity.

(h) Transfers of real property on which no dwelling is located.

(i) The provisions of

Section 891527.

§ 891503. Delivery of written statement required; indication of compliance; right of

transferee to terminate for late delivery.

The transferor of any real property subject to

Sections 891501 through 891523 shall deliver

to the prospective transferee the written property condition disclosure statement required by

Sections 89 1501 through 891523, as follows:

(a) In the case of a sale, as soon as practicable before transfer of title.

(b) In the case of transfer by a real property sales contract, or by a lease together with an

option to purchase, or a ground lease coupled with improvements, as soon as

practicable before execution of the contract. For the purpose of this paragraph,

execution means the making or acceptance of an offer.

With respect to any transfer subject to paragraph (a) or (b), the transferor shall indicate

compliance with

Sections 891501 through 891523 either on the receipt for deposit, the real

property sales contract, the lease, or any addendum attached thereto or on a separate

document.

If any disclosure, or any material amendment of any disclosure, required to be made by

Section891501 through 891523, is delivered after the execution of an offer to purchase, the

 transferee shall have three (3) days after delivery in person or five (5) days after delivery by

deposit in the mail, to terminate his or her offer by delivery of a written notice of termination

to the transferor or the transferor’s agent.

§ 891505. Limit on duties and liabilities with respect to information required or delivered.

(1) Neither the transferor nor any listing or selling agent shall be liable for any error, inaccuracy

or omission of any information delivered pursuant to

Sections 891501 through 891523 if

the error, inaccuracy or omission was not within the personal knowledge of the transferor

or that listing or selling agent, was based on information timely provided by public agencies

or by other persons providing information as specified in subsection (2) that is required to

be disclosed pursuant to

Sections 891501 through 891523, and ordinary care was

exercised in obtaining and transmitting it.

§ 891505. Limit on duties and liabilities with respect to information required or delivered.

(1) Neither the transferor nor any listing or selling agent shall be liable for any error, inaccuracy

or omission of any information delivered pursuant to

Sections 891501 through 891523 if

the error, inaccuracy or omission was not within the personal knowledge of the transferor

or that listing or selling agent, was based on information timely provided by public agencies

or by other persons providing information as specified in subsection (2) that is required to

be disclosed pursuant to Sections 891501 through 891523, and ordinary care was

exercised in obtaining and transmitting it.

(2) The delivery of any information required to be disclosed by

Sections 891501 through 891523 to a prospective transferee by a public agency or other person providing information

required to be disclosed pursuant to

Sections 891501 through 891523 shall be deemed

to comply with the requirements of

Sections 891501 through 891523 and shall relieve

the transferor or any listing or selling agent of any further duty under

Sections 891501 through 891523 with respect to that item of information.

(3) The delivery of a report or opinion prepared by a licensed engineer, land surveyor,

geologist, structural pest control operator, contractor or other expert, dealing with matters

within the scope of the professional’s license or expertise, shall be sufficient compliance for

application of the exemption provided by subsection (1) if the information is provided to

the prospective transferee pursuant to a request therefor, whether written or oral. In

responding to such a request, an expert may indicate, in writing, an understanding that the

information provided will be used in fulfilling the requirements of

Section 891509 and, if

so, shall indicate the required disclosures, or parts thereof, to which the information being

furnished is applicable. Where such a statement is furnished, the expert shall not be

responsible for any items of information, or parts thereof, other than those expressly set

forth in the statement.

§ 891507. Approximation of certain information required to be disclosed; information

subsequently rendered inaccurate.

If information disclosed in accordance with

Sections 891501 through 891523 is subsequently

rendered inaccurate as a result of any act, occurrence or agreement subsequent to the delivery

of the required disclosures, the inaccuracy resulting therefrom does not constitute a violation

of Sections 891501 through 891523. If at the time the disclosures are required to be made,

an item of information required to be disclosed is unknown or not available to the transferor,

and the transferor or his agent has made a reasonable effort to ascertain it, the transferor may

use an approximation of the information, provided the approximation is clearly identified as

such, is reasonable, is based on the best information available to the transferor or his agent,

and is not used for the purpose of circumventing or evading

Sections 891501 through 891523.

§ 891509. Form of seller’s disclosure statement.

The disclosures required by

Sections 891501 through 891523 pertaining to the property

proposed to be transferred shall be set forth in, and shall be made on a copy of a disclosure

form, the structure and composition of which shall be determined by the Mississippi Real

Estate Commission.

§ 891511. Disclosures to be made in good faith.

Each disclosure required by

Sections 891501 through 891523 and each act which may be

performed in making the disclosure, shall be made in good faith. For purposes of

Sections 891501 through 891523, “good faith” means honesty in fact in the conduct of the transaction.

§ 891513. Provisions not exhaustive of items to be disclosed.

The specification of items for disclosure in

Sections 891501 through 891523 does not limit or

abridge any obligation for disclosure created by any other provision of law or which may exist

in order to avoid fraud, misrepresentation or deceit in the transfer transaction.

§ 891515. Amendment of disclosure.

Any disclosure made pursuant to

Sections 891501 through 891523 may be amended in

writing by the transferor or his agent, but the amendment shall be subject to the provisions of

Section 891503.

§ 891517. Delivery of disclosure.

Delivery of disclosure required by

Sections 891501 through 891523 shall be by personal

delivery to the transferee or by mail to the prospective transferee. For the purposes of

Sections 891501 through 891523, delivery to the spouse of a transferee shall be deemed delivery to the transferee, unless provided otherwise by contract.

§ 891523. Noncompliance with disclosure requirements not to invalidate transfer; liability

for actual damages.

No transfer subject to

Sections 891501 through 891523 shall be invalidated solely because

of the failure of any person to comply with any provision of

Sections 891501 through 891523.

However, any person who willfully or negligently violates or fails to perform any duty

prescribed by any provision of

Sections 891501 through 891523 shall be liable in the amount

of actual damages suffered by a transferee.

§ 891525. Enforcement by Mississippi Real Estate Commission.

The Mississippi Real Estate Commission is authorized to enforce the provisions of

Sections 891501 through 891523. Any violation of the provisions of Sections 891501 through 891523

shall be treated in the same manner as a violation of the Real Estate Broker License Law of

1954,

Section 73351 et seq., and shall be subject to same penalties as provided in that

chapter.

§ 891527. Failure to disclose nonmaterial fact regarding property as site of death or felony

crime, as site of act or occurrence having no effect on physical condition of property, or as

being owned or occupied by persons affected or exposed to certain diseases; failure to

disclose information provided or maintained on registration of sex offenders.

(1) The fact or suspicion that real property is or was:

(a) The site of a natural death, suicide, homicide or felony crime (except for illegal drug

activity that affects the physical condition of the property, its physical environment or

the improvements located thereon);

(b) The site of an act or occurrence that had no effect on the physical condition of the

property, its physical environment or the improvements located thereon;

(c) Owned or occupied by a person affected or exposed to any disease not known to be

transmitted through common occupancy of real estate including, but not limited to, the

human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome

(AIDS);

does not constitute a material fact that must be disclosed in a real estate transaction. A

failure to disclose such nonmaterial facts or suspicions shall not give rise to a criminal,

civil or administrative action against the owner of such real property, a licensed real

estate broker or any affiliated licensee of the broker.

(2) A failure to disclose in any real estate transaction any information that is provided or

maintained, or is required to be provided or maintained, in accordance with

Section 453321 through Section 453357, shall not give rise to a cause of action against an owner of real property, a licensed real estate broker or any affiliated licensee of the broker. Likewise, no

 cause of action shall arise against any licensed real estate broker or affiliated licensee of the

broker for revealing information to a seller or buyer of real estate in accordance with

Section 453321 through Section 453357. Any factors related to this paragraph, if known

to a property owner or licensee shall be disclosed if requested by a consumer.

(3) Failure to disclose any of the facts or suspicions of facts described in subsections (1) and (2)shall not be grounds for the termination or rescission of any transaction in which real

property has been or will be transferred or leased. This provision does not preclude an

action against an owner of real estate who makes intentional or fraudulent

misrepresentations in response to a direct inquiry from a purchaser or prospective

purchaser regarding facts or suspicions that are not material to the physical condition of the

property including, but not limited to, those factors listed in subsections (1) and (2).