Maricopa grew up on oil. The city was incorporated in 1911, a year after the Lakeview gusher, and Kern Council of Governments still describes it as a mother city of the Midway-Sunset oil fields. Many homes here have decades of history behind them, and when one sells, California law expects the seller to put what they know about that history in writing. The main document for that is the California Transfer Disclosure Statement, usually called the TDS. Here is what it covers, when it is due and how it fits with the other disclosures in a typical sale.
Key Takeaways
- The Transfer Disclosure Statement is a state-required form that sellers of one-to-four unit residential property give to buyers.
- It covers what the seller and the agent know about the property’s condition, plus what a reasonably diligent inspection would reveal.
- In a typical transaction, the seller has seven days to deliver required disclosures.
- If disclosures arrive after the buyer signs an offer, the buyer can terminate within three days of in-person delivery or five days of delivery by mail.
- Selling “as is” does not remove the duty to disclose known material facts.
- The TDS is one piece of a larger disclosure package that also includes natural hazard and other statutory notices.
The TDS Is a Required Condition Report From the Seller
The Transfer Disclosure Statement is a form set by California law in which the seller describes the condition of the property as they know it. According to the California Department of Real Estate’s reference chapter on contract provisions and disclosures, Civil Code Section 1102.3 requires sellers of real property with one to four residential dwelling units to deliver a written disclosure statement about the property’s condition to prospective buyers.
The requirement reaches beyond a standard sale. The same chapter says it extends to exchanges, installment land sale contracts, leases with an option to purchase, other purchase options and ground leases coupled with improvements. The form covers matters within the personal knowledge of the seller and the agent, along with what a reasonably diligent inspection would show.
A short list of transfers is exempt, including court-ordered transfers, foreclosure transfers, transfers from one co-owner to another, transfers between spouses and transfers to or from a government entity. An ordinary sale of a Maricopa home to an outside buyer is not on that list, so most sellers here will complete the form.
What the Form Asks About
The TDS walks through the property’s features and then asks the seller to identify known problems. The DRE chapter lists the kinds of facts that affect value and desirability and tend to come up on the form:
- Age, condition and any defects in structural components and the plumbing, electrical, heating or other mechanical systems
- Easements, common driveways and shared fences
- Room additions, structural changes and repairs, especially work done without required permits
- Flood, drainage, settling or soil problems on or near the property
- Zoning violations such as nonconforming uses or insufficient setbacks
- Homeowners association obligations, deed restrictions and common area problems
- Citations against the property or lawsuits affecting it
- Neighborhood noise or nuisance problems
- Location within a known earthquake zone
For older Maricopa homes, the permit question deserves extra care. A garage conversion or an added room from years ago may be well built and still unpermitted, and that is something a buyer will want to know. If you are unsure whether past work was permitted, find out before you fill out the form rather than guessing.
Timing: When the Disclosure Is Due
In most sales the disclosures are delivered shortly after the buyer’s offer is accepted. The DRE chapter notes that in a typical transaction the seller has seven days to provide all required disclosures, a period set by the purchase agreement.
What happens when disclosures arrive after the buyer has signed an offer is set by statute. The DRE explains that the buyer may then have three days after delivery in person, or five days after delivery by mail, to terminate the offer or agreement by giving written notice to the seller or the seller’s agent. The same rule applies to a material amendment, so a seller who discovers a new problem midway through escrow and updates the disclosure can reopen that window.
| Disclosure situation | What it means for the sale |
|---|---|
| Delivered before the offer is signed | No separate termination window from this rule |
| Delivered in person after the offer | Buyer has three days to terminate in writing |
| Delivered by mail after the offer | Buyer has five days to terminate in writing |
| Amended after a new material fact surfaces | The window can open again for the amendment |
Selling As Is Does Not Waive Disclosure
An “as is” sale tells the buyer you are not offering to make repairs. It does not let you stay quiet about known defects. The DRE chapter states that unless otherwise agreed, the property is sold in its present condition subject to the buyer’s right to inspect, and the seller must disclose all material facts and defects, including known insurance claims.
The practical lesson for a seller is that silence is not a strategy. If you know the roof leaked two winters ago, or that the sewer line was repaired, that belongs on the form, along with what was done about it. Buyers who later learn of an undisclosed problem have grounds for a dispute, and a clear written record protects you as much as it informs them.
The Agent Has a Separate Inspection Duty
The seller is not the only one with a disclosure obligation. Under the rules summarized by the DRE, the listing agent and any cooperating agent must each conduct a reasonably competent and diligent visual inspection of accessible areas of a one-to-four unit property and disclose to the buyer all material facts affecting value, desirability and intended use. That certification appears on the TDS itself.
The inspection is visual and limited to accessible areas. It does not replace a professional home inspection, and the law also notes that buyers keep their own duty to exercise reasonable care to protect themselves.
Other Disclosures That Travel With the TDS
The TDS is usually part of a larger stack. The DRE chapter describes a Natural Hazard Disclosure covering special flood hazard areas, state responsibility areas for fire and earthquake fault zones, along with a lead-based paint disclosure for homes built before 1978, smoke detector and water heater bracing statements and, for homes built before 1960 with light-frame construction, delivery of the Homeowner’s Guide to Earthquake Safety.
Maricopa adds a local item worth checking. Because the city sits at the edge of a long-producing oil field, buyers often want to know about nearby oil and gas wells. The state’s CalGEM Well Finder lets anyone search by address and locate oil and gas wells and related facilities, so it is a sensible step to look up your property before you complete your disclosures. The history behind that, from the 1910 gusher onward, is summarized on the Kern COG Maricopa page.
Where a Smooth Disclosure Starts
The step that makes the biggest difference is gathering records before you list, not after an offer arrives. Pull together repair invoices, permits, insurance claims, inspection reports and anything from when you bought the home. With those in hand, filling out the TDS becomes a matter of describing what the paperwork shows, and late surprises that reopen a buyer’s termination window become far less likely. For specific legal questions about what must be disclosed, a real estate attorney is the right resource.
If you are getting ready to sell, the seller representation page explains how Real Estate Agent Maricopa handles a listing from preparation through escrow, and the residential real estate page and the homepage cover the rest of the area’s home buying and selling.