Georgia starts from buyer beware
Georgia rule: no Georgia statute requires a residential seller to complete a disclosure form. The default is caveat emptor, and the GAR Seller's Property Disclosure Statement (F301) says so on its face. F301 is a contractual exhibit, not a statutory mandate.
The passive concealment exception
Caveat emptor is not absolute. Georgia courts created passive concealment, recognized in Wilhite v. Mays and called an apathetic form of fraud in Hudgins v. Bacon. A seller who knows of a hidden defect and stays silent commits a species of fraud. The elements are:
- the seller actually knew of the defect
- the defect was latent, not discoverable by the buyer's reasonable diligence
- the seller stayed silent or concealed it
- the buyer relied and was damaged
Seller negligence is not the theory; this is a fraud claim. The defect need not appear in a government record, and refusing a home inspection is not an element.
As-is does not erase the duty
The trap: an as-is clause does not excuse fraud or concealment of latent defects. F301 says the seller must disclose known hidden defects even when the property is sold as-is. As-is defeats implied-condition claims only. It does not shift the duty to the listing broker and does not control financing or inspection terms. Paneling over a known leak is passive concealment whatever the contract says.
What a "no" answer means
A "no" on F301 means the seller has no knowledge of that condition. The buyer instructions say the answers are not a warranty or guaranty and no substitute for the buyer's own due diligence. A "no" on water intrusion is not a promise water never entered, not an inspector's certification, and not a waiver of a moisture claim.
Update before closing
The seller instructions require full, accurate answers and prompt revision if answers materially change before closing, delivered to the buyer and any broker. A failed heat pump and a new roof leak trigger that duty now — not at the walk-through, and not only if asked.