In 1985, California Attorneys, Legislators, and those in the Judiciary Committees for the California Senate and Assembly passed CIV 1102.
That included the creation of the TDS (Transfer Disclosure Statement) and the SPQ (Seller Property Questionnaire).
Those forms ask very detailed questions about property and they require sellers and Real Estate Brokers to disclose everything about facts that might affect a buyers perception of value. They also have umbrella questions that ask for disclosure of anything material not specifically asked, so they are very inclusive.
Unfortunately, the Attorneys and Legislators who put the system in place added a loophole in the delivery instructions by stating (paraphrasing),
"The TDS is due to a buyer prior to Transfer of Title" instead of "The TDS is due to a buyer prior to forming a contract / contract acceptance / contract ratification"
The TDS is where the Seller tells a prospective buyer the roof leaked in winter, there were prior mold issues and asbestos and the cat peed in the dining room.
Given these are all things a buyer would want to know BEFORE deciding on an offer amount and signing a purchase contract, the documents must be due prior to forming a contract, right?
Of course, and thus "Transfer of Title" must be equate to the "time of contract formation" correct? Yes, but maybe not...
Transfer of Title is a "legal theory" -- and while many people agree that it happens at time of Contract Acceptance / Ratification and the current contracts in use by California Brokers even state that, other people believe the theory includes "equitable title" and "legal title" -- whereby equitable title transfers at time of Contract Acceptance, but legal title occurs at time of deed recording, so which Transfer of Title was it referring to?
Problem: their loophole wasn't a loophole at all, it was irrelvant confusion for confusion sake
In California and all other jurisdication with proper contract law statutes, a contract is a contract is a contract. A Real Estate contract is no different from a consturion contract and tht's no different from a contract to buy a business -- and prior to Agreeing to the Contract, all material facts that may affect the other parties opinion of value must be disclosed to avoid claims for fraud. This is a Universal Truth that establishes a "contract law system". Without that, there is no civil legal system.
In this case, CIV 1102.8 provides that exact over-arching guidance by statating (paraphrasing), "Nothing about CIV 1102 shoudl be construed to encourage misrepresentation and concealment of fact" -- but conveniently -- California Brokers, Attorneys, and Judges pretend CIV 1102.8 does not exist -- and worse yet -- none will tell a harmed buyer that the fraud was actually committed when the Seller signed his disclosures under penalty of purjery and prsented them to the selling broker -- days, weeks or months before a buyer was even in the picture.
With this system, California Attorneys, their brethren and friends in legislature who passed CIV 1102, and the Real Estate Brokers paid to oversee brokered real estate transactions had everyone looking in one direction while massive conflicts of interest and disclosure fraud were and are transpiring right under everyone's noses -- and the Real Estate Brokers and Civil Attorneys will say it's all okay because the law their crooked brethren passed decades ago says it's so.
This is a good example of a "commercial hoax".