Controversial Bill Forces Texans to Disclose Sales Price

The new Senate Bill 270 is currently being discussed in legislature. The bill would require Texans to disclose the sales price of a home before the deed can be recorded. This presents a big controversy since Texas is currently a non-disclosure state, which means the sales price of a home is kept out of public record.

HERE ARE THE TWO SIDES

AGAINST: From Houston Real News, Investors

The past President of the Texas Real Estate Investors Association is opposed to Texas Sales Price Disclosure. According to Ms. Crowe-League:

Senate Bill 270 by Wentworth would prohibit the recording of an instrument that conveys real property under a contract of sale unless the instrument contains the sales price of the property...We need to do something...I just feel that it should be your business to know what you paid, and I think people will use it against you if they know what you paid.

FOR: The senator who wrote it, Jeff Wentworth. According to Mr. Wentworth, this bill is about our property tax system and decreasing the property tax burden.

The purchase price of high-end residential property and commercial property, such as apartment and office buildings, is not listed in MLS or otherwise disclosed.  This prevents the property from being accurately valued, shifting the tax burden to homeowners of moderately priced houses.

A bill requiring mandatory sales price disclosure when a person sells a piece of real estate would result in a fairer distribution of property taxes.

OPINION

As a real estate broker-associate, it would be great to know the true sales prices of properties, which is a limitation in Texas. Our non-disclosure status is the reason Zillow and other automated home value services provide inaccurate data.

Never the less, it sounds like the Senator Wentworth is throwing the baby in with the bathwater. Texans value our bar-b-que, trucks, apple pie, and privacy. As useful as this bill could be in some instances, it's still trampling on our right to keep the sales price to ourselves, so will face some strong opposition.

Read a Statesman Blog on this topic.

Comments

[James Dunbarthy]

I use propertyshark for this info and occasionally zillow, but I like propertyshark's detailed property reports and title documents better.