What Oregon Sellers Must Disclose

Oregon requires sellers to put it in writing. The form is the Seller's Property Disclosure Statement. Under ORS 105.464 and 105.465, a seller of covered residential property must deliver the statutory Seller's Property Disclosure Statement, based on the seller's actual knowledge, to each buyer who makes a written offer.

What the disclosure covers — and what it is

Expect the statutory disclosure statement, which asks among other things whether the property is in a designated floodplain or geologic hazard zone, and answer is based on actual knowledge only - no inspection is required of the seller. After delivery you have five business days to revoke your offer in writing unless you waived that right.

Flooding: the answer that matters most

Oregon law specifically requires flood disclosure: the seller has to tell you about flood risk or history. Read that answer carefully, then verify it against the official map — FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer is the map your lender will use, and a seller's 'never flooded' is not the same as 'not in a flood zone.'

The Oregon traps inside the paperwork

Public registry lists only Level 3 offenders. Oregon's public Sex Offender Inquiry System is a searchable database of Notification Level 3 (high risk) offenders subject to community notification, so lower-level registrants do not appear in a public address search.

Five-business-day revocation right after disclosure. After the seller delivers the disclosure statement the buyer has five business days to revoke the offer with a separate signed written statement, unless the buyer waived the right at or before signing the sale agreement - read any waiver in the agreement carefully.

What no disclosure will ever tell you

A disclosure is the seller's knowledge, on the seller's timeline. It says nothing about the street's crime trend, the registry, the tax bill you will pay after the sale, permits pulled (or never pulled) for the renovation in the photos, or the rezoning working its way through the planning office. In Oregon, property tax reassessment works like this: Oregon does not reset assessed value on a sale: the buyer inherits the seller's maximum assessed value and its 3% annual path, so the seller's current bill is an unusually good guide to yours. The exception is new construction or major additions, which are added at market value — which is why the seller's current bill is a poor guide to yours. Pull those records yourself; they are all public.

Your checks, in order

• Read the disclosure line by line, and get 'unknown' answers in writing anyway — an unknown is a flag, not a pass.
• Run the exact parcel on FEMA's flood map.
• Estimate your post-sale tax bill with the Oregon records guide — never budget from the seller's bill.
• Check the address against the official Oregon registry.
• Ask the county for open and expired permits on the address before you waive anything.

Frequently asked questions

Is a seller disclosure form required in Oregon?

Yes — the Seller's Property Disclosure Statement. Under ORS 105.464 and 105.465, a seller of covered residential property must deliver the statutory Seller's Property Disclosure Statement, based on the seller's actual knowledge, to each buyer who makes a written offer.

Does a Oregon seller have to disclose flooding?

Yes — Oregon requires flood disclosure. Verify it on the FEMA map anyway; the disclosure is the seller's statement, the map is the lender's rulebook.

The seller answered 'unknown' to half the form. Now what?

'Unknown' is legal in most regimes and useful to nobody. Treat every unknown as a job: inspection, permit search, and the county record file. If the seller genuinely doesn't know, the records usually do.

Sources: currycountyor.gov · oregon.gov · harris-sliwoski.com · legalclarity.org · oregon.public.law