What do you have to disclose when you sell a house in Arkansas?

If your house was built before 1978, federal law applies to the sale. Under 42 U.S.C. 4852d you give the buyer the EPA lead paint booklet, tell them about any lead paint or lead hazards you actually know of, share any reports you have, and sign a disclosure attachment. The buyer gets a 10-day window to test for lead, a period the two sides can change or the buyer can waive, in writing. This is a fact about federal law and the buyer's rights, separate from anything about how fast a sale closes.

The penalty for knowingly skipping it is serious: three times the buyer's damages, plus costs and fees. The rule applies to cash sales and as-is sales alike. Homes built in 1978 or later are outside the rule entirely, and sales at foreclosure are exempt.

The seller property disclosure form that circulates in traditional sales was created by an industry trade group, and buyers can make their offer contingent on receiving it. But it is voluntary under Arkansas law. What matters is what happens once you fill one out: your answers become statements of fact.

Arkansas courts have let buyers sue over false answers. In a 2004 Faulkner County case, sellers wrote that the house had no settling and no structural changes. The buyers found settling, and the appeals court let the fraud claim proceed, holding that good faith is not a defense to constructive fraud. Honest answers hold up better: sellers who answered to the best of their knowledge, with the buyers doing their own inspection, have won. So has a couple whose buyers could not prove any answer on the form was false.

Caveat emptor protects silence, not deception. An as-is sale in Arkansas generally waives the implied warranty of habitability, and courts have enforced as-is clauses even in a $445,000 sale where foundation problems surfaced after closing, because the sellers never made a false statement.

The line is active conduct. Cover up a defect, block an inspection, or answer a direct question falsely, and the buyer can bring a fraud claim that an as-is clause does not stop. That is the whole system in one sentence: you do not have to volunteer, and you are not allowed to deceive.

Arkansas settled this one by statute. Under Ark. Code Ann. 17-10-101, the fact that a property was the site of a homicide, suicide, or felony is not a material fact that must be disclosed. If a buyer asks you directly, do not lie. A false answer can turn protected silence into a fraud claim.

No Arkansas statute requires a termite letter to sell a house. The letter shows up because lenders require one, especially on FHA and VA loans, and because contracts assign it by habit. When a letter of clearance is issued, state rules control it: the standard federal report form, written only by a licensed commercial applicator, with at least a one-year guarantee and a diagram of any damage. A cash sale needs a termite letter only if the contract says so.

A direct cash sale removes most of the disclosure machinery because there is no lender and no form-driven negotiation. We buy as-is after one quick walkthrough, so you are not asked to fill out a sixty-question form or warrant the condition of anything. If your house was built before 1978, the federal lead packet still applies, and we handle that paperwork at closing like everything else. You get a guaranteed cash offer within 24 hours, we cover the typical closing costs, meaning the title work, and we close in less than 10 days, or on your timeline.