Home sellers would have to flag dams on the property

In New Jersey, a dam can now become part of the paperwork that comes with a home sale. Sellers of real property in the state must disclose, before a buyer is bound by contract, whether a dam is within the property boundaries and any actual knowledge they have about it.

The change is aimed at making a potentially serious water-control issue harder to miss at closing, especially for buyers who would otherwise learn about it only after the deal is already moving forward.

The questions buyers will see

The Division of Consumer Affairs, working with the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Community Affairs and the New Jersey Real Estate Commission, will add a new “Disclosure of Dam Ownership” section to the property condition disclosure statement. That section is meant to push the issue into a standard form instead of leaving it buried in a seller’s memory or a later conversation.

• Whether the dam is wholly or partly on the property.
• What hazard classification the dam carries.
• Whether current law requires inspection, and what the latest inspection found.
• What duties a purchaser would inherit with the property.