What Must You Disclose When Selling a Home in Oregon?

The short answer: when you sell most residential property in Oregon, you must give the buyer a completed Seller's Property Disclosure Statement. The form asks what you know about the property, from the roof and the plumbing to the water source and any easements, and you answer each question with "yes," "no," or "unknown." It is not a warranty and it is not an inspection report. It is an honest statement of what you know, and getting it right is one of the simplest ways to keep a sale moving smoothly.

I have watched sellers worry about this form more than almost any other piece of the transaction, mostly because they are not sure what goes on it and what stays off. That is a fair concern. The good news is that the rules are clearer than most people expect, and a little advance preparation turns the disclosure from a source of anxiety into a quiet selling point.

What Is the Seller's Property Disclosure Statement?

Oregon's disclosure law lives in ORS 105.462 to 105.490, and the form itself is spelled out in ORS 105.464. It is a standardized state form, not something your agent invents for your property. You work through a series of questions and mark each one "yes," "no," or "unknown," with space to add comments where a plain answer is not enough.

The key phrase in the law is "actual knowledge." You are disclosing what you know about the property, based on your time owning it and living in it. You are not expected to be a home inspector, an engineer, or a contractor. If you have never had reason to know something, "unknown" is a legitimate answer. What the law does not allow is marking the form in a way that hides something you do know.

What the Form Actually Asks About

The form covers the property in seven broad areas, and each one is worth reading carefully before you answer:

• Title and legal matters. Claims affecting the title, special tax assessments, and easements on the property.
• Water source and permits. Whether the home is on a well, city water, or another source, and the permits connected to it.
• Sewage disposal. Septic system or public sewer, and what you know about its condition and records.
• Structural condition. The roof, foundation, walls, insulation, windows, and doors.
• Systems. Plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling equipment.
• Hazards. Fire hazards, mold, lead-based paint, and any unpermitted construction or repairs.
• Community matters. HOA dues, shared common areas, and similar obligations that come with the property.

Some of these sections matter more in Southern Oregon than in other parts of the country. On rural acreage around Medford, Eagle Point, Grants Pass, Jacksonville, or Rogue River, the water and sewage sections carry real weight, because the well and the septic are the property's own utility systems. Near wildfire-prone areas, the fire hazard questions deserve an honest answer, because buyers and their insurers will ask about the same things. The article on selling a home with a well and septic walks through the water and sewage side in detail.

What "Unknown" Means and When It Is the Right Answer

"Unknown" is a legitimate answer on this form, and it is the right answer whenever it is true. If you inherited a home and never lived in it, or you own a property that has sat vacant for years, there will be questions you simply cannot answer from personal knowledge. Marking "unknown" is honest, and honesty is what the form is built around.

The line you do not want to cross is marking "no" or "unknown" about something you actually know about. Oregon law treats the completed statement as a representation (ORS 105.480), which means a false answer about a known defect can support a misrepresentation claim later. In plain terms: a buyer who discovers you knew about a problem and did not disclose it has a much stronger case than one who finds a problem you genuinely did not know about.

If you are selling a property you know little about, do what you can to close the gaps before you answer. Well logs, septic records, permits, and service history are often available from the county or from past paperwork, and they make the form easier to complete accurately. The seller resources page organizes the documents worth gathering by situation.

When the Buyer Gets the Statement and the Five-Business-Day Window

Under ORS 105.464, the seller's disclosure statement must be delivered to each buyer who makes a written offer, unless an exemption applies. Under ORS 105.475, a buyer who has not waived the statutory right to revoke generally has five business days after delivery of the statement to revoke their offer by providing the seller with a separate, signed written statement disapproving the disclosure. If the buyer does not exercise that right within the required period, the statutory revocation right expires. The right also ends when the transaction closes. If a seller fails or refuses to provide a required disclosure statement, the buyer retains the statutory right to revoke until closing. This disclosure-related right is separate from any inspection or other contingency deadlines established in the purchase agreement.

The practical translation: do not treat the disclosure as a last-minute escrow errand. A complete, honest statement delivered early gives the buyer their full review window before inspections and appraisals get going, which is exactly where you want it. A rushed statement delivered late compresses that window into the busiest part of the transaction, and it is the worst possible moment for a buyer to discover something new. Completing the form before you list, or as soon as an offer arrives, is the calmer path.

Which Sales Are Exempt

Not every sale requires the full statement. ORS 105.470 lists the main exemptions:

• New construction. The first sale of a dwelling that has never been occupied may qualify for an exemption, provided the seller gives the buyer the specific building or installation permit statement required by ORS 105.470 on or before the date the buyer becomes legally obligated to purchase the property. This exemption does not eliminate the importance of a buyer obtaining appropriate inspections.
• Certain court-related sales. Some transactions, including foreclosure sales and sales by a court-appointed personal representative of a deceased owner's estate, bankruptcy trustee, receiver, or guardian, may qualify for an exemption under ORS 105.470. Simply inheriting a property does not automatically exempt an owner from Oregon's seller disclosure requirements.
• Government transfers. Sales or transfers by a governmental agency.

If you believe an exemption applies, the form is still involved: a seller claiming an exclusion fills out the identifying portion of the form and must actually qualify under the statute. Estate sales are the situation I see most often in Southern Oregon, and the article on selling an inherited property covers the authority questions that come first. Your broker or attorney can confirm whether an exemption applies to your specific sale, because getting that wrong is not worth the risk.

What You Do Not Have to Disclose

One of the most common questions I hear is about events that happened in the home rather than conditions of the home. Oregon law is clear on this. Under ORS 93.275, the fact or suspicion that a property was the site of a death, by any manner, or of a crime or other event, is not a "material fact" in a real estate transaction, as long as the event did not affect the physical condition of or the title to the property.

In plain language: Oregon does not require you to volunteer that someone died in the home, or that a crime took place there. Those are not part of the disclosure form, and failing to mention them does not create liability. The one caveat is that if a buyer asks you directly, answer honestly. The law removes the duty to volunteer the information; it does not protect a seller who affirmatively lies about it.

This protection covers stigma events only. Physical conditions, title issues, and the other items on the form are a different matter, and they still belong in the disclosure.

Common Disclosure Mistakes Sellers Make

In my experience, sellers rarely lose a sale because of what they disclose. They lose sleep over it, but the actual problems come from a handful of avoidable mistakes.

The first is hiding a known issue. A problem disclosed up front is a manageable detail. The same problem discovered later looks like it was hidden, and it makes a buyer wonder what else was left out. I have never seen honesty cost a seller as much as the appearance of hiding something.

The second is confusing "no" with "unknown." These answers are not interchangeable. If you genuinely do not know the answer to a question, "unknown" may be appropriate. But if you know about a past problem, repair, or condition relevant to the question, you should not use "unknown" simply because you haven't inspected that part of the property recently. The goal is to answer accurately based on your actual knowledge, not to guess or avoid disclosing something you know.

The third is waiting too long to deliver the statement, which we covered above. The fourth is skipping the records that back up your answers, like well logs and septic service history, especially on rural property. And the fifth is forgetting to update the statement when something changes between the offer and closing. If a pipe leaks or a tree comes down after the form is signed, tell the buyer and update the statement. A surprise at closing is the one thing nobody wants.

How Disclosures Fit With the Rest of the Sale

The disclosure and the buyer's inspection work as a pair. A complete, honest disclosure sets the tone and tells the buyer what you already know. The inspection then verifies the property's condition independently, and the two documents together give everyone a clear picture before the negotiation begins. The article on what happens after an offer is accepted walks through the inspection and the rest of the closing sequence.

When multiple offers arrive, the disclosure is part of how you compare them fairly. A buyer who has seen a complete statement and still moved forward is a buyer who knows what they are stepping into, which is worth something when you weigh competing offers. The guide on comparing offers on a Southern Oregon home explains how to weigh price against terms and contingencies.

For sellers choosing to market a property "as is," the disclosure matters even more. The price, the condition, and the disclosures need to tell the same story, and the answer on as-is versus making repairs first is a good place to start if you are weighing that decision.

Questions Southern Oregon Sellers Ask

Let's Get Your Disclosure Right

The disclosure statement is not the most glamorous part of selling a home, but it is one of the most important. After more than 30 years in real estate, including plenty of inherited, vacant, and rural properties across Jackson and Josephine Counties, I have helped sellers complete this form more times than I can count. I can walk you through each question, help you gather the records that back up your answers, and make sure the statement tells an honest, complete story that helps the sale instead of slowing it down.

The seller resources page organizes the documents and decisions by situation, and the Southern Oregon Property Seller's Guide walks through the full process when you are ready. Or simply reach out and we will take it from there.

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