What Must a Frisco, Texas Seller Disclose Before Selling a Home?

A Frisco, Texas seller must disclose what they know about the home's condition, in writing, on the Seller's Disclosure Notice required by Section 5.008 of the Texas Property Code. The notice covers known defects, repairs, flood history, insurance claims and other conditions that could matter to a buyer. It reflects what you know on the day you sign it, and it is not a warranty.

I'm Omega Mejia, a real estate agent with Simply Great Real Estate Group, and I help sellers in Frisco, Texas and across Collin County. If you are getting ready to sell and worried about getting a box wrong, this post walks through what the form asks, when it has to reach the buyer, and the mistakes that cost sellers a contract.

It is a written statement of what you know about the property, delivered to the buyer. The Texas Real Estate Commission publishes the current version as TREC No. 55-1, dated May 4, 2026, which replaced the older 55-0. TREC prepared it under Section 5.008(b) of the Property Code for contracts entered into on or after September 1, 2023.

The top of the form spells out what it is and is not. It is a disclosure of the seller's knowledge of the condition of the property as of the date the seller signs. It is not a substitute for any inspections or warranties the buyer may want, and it is not a warranty of any kind by the seller or the seller's agents. The buyer signs at the bottom only to acknowledge receiving it.

Texas REALTORS notes that the notice is not a contract and is not attached as an addendum to one. It stands on its own.

Most owners selling a single-family home do. TREC describes the form as one for sellers of previously occupied single-family residences, and Texas REALTORS explains that the statute applies to residential property with not more than one dwelling unit.

A few situations surprise sellers. According to Texas REALTORS, a seller who has never lived in the home, such as an owner who rented it out or inherited it, still completes the notice from what they know. An executor or administrator acting for an estate is exempt, but heirs who own the home are not. A short sale does not create an exemption, and a relocation company that holds title is not exempt either. Lease transactions are outside the rule.

The form walks through the house system by system. Section 1 lists items such as the range, dishwasher, central air and heat, plumbing, pool equipment, sprinklers, garage door openers, water heater and roof type with its approximate age. For each one you mark yes, no or unknown, then say whether you know of any that are not working or need repair.

Section 2 asks whether working smoke detectors are installed as Chapter 766 of the Texas Health and Safety Code requires. Section 3 asks about known defects in interior and exterior walls, ceilings, floors, doors, windows, the roof, the foundation or slab, driveways, plumbing and electrical systems. Section 4 covers conditions such as active termites, previous termite damage or treatment, previous structural or roof repair, improper drainage, water damage not caused by a flood, soil movement, previous fires, lead-based paint and asbestos. Section 5 asks about anything else in need of repair.

Sections 6, 7 and 8 of the form are all about water. You disclose whether you have flood insurance now, whether the property has flooded because of a reservoir release, and whether water has entered a structure on the property during a natural flood event.

You also say whether the property sits wholly or partly in a 100-year floodplain, a 500-year floodplain, a floodway, a flood pool or a reservoir. The form defines a 100-year floodplain as an area on the FEMA flood insurance rate map with a one percent annual chance of flooding, and a 500-year floodplain as an area with a two-tenths of one percent annual chance.

Section 7 asks whether you have ever filed a flood damage claim with any insurance provider, including the National Flood Insurance Program. Section 8 asks whether you have ever received flood damage assistance from FEMA or the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Section 9 covers the legal and financial side of the property. It asks whether you know of room additions or repairs made without the necessary permits, homeowners association fees or assessments, common areas co-owned with others, notices of deed restriction or ordinance violations, and lawsuits affecting the property.

It also asks whether the property is presently covered by insurance, whether you have been unable to insure it for any reason, and whether there are storage tanks, conservation easements, or a private road you are responsible for maintaining. Separately, the TREC resale contract notes that federal law requires a lead-based paint disclosure for a home built before 1978.

The notice should reach the buyer on or before the effective date of the contract. Texas REALTORS explains that timing, and the TREC resale contract, form 20-19, shows what happens when it slips.

Paragraph 7B of the contract gives three choices. If the buyer has not received the notice, the seller delivers it within a set number of days. If it never arrives, the buyer may terminate at any time before closing and get the earnest money back. If it arrives late, the buyer may terminate for any reason within 7 days after receiving it, or before closing if that comes first, and the earnest money is refunded. That 7-day window is how a late notice can cost a seller the contract.

You can mark it unknown, as long as you do not know. Texas REALTORS says a seller who legitimately does not know an answer may mark that question unknown and still meet the statute's requirements.

Two rules travel with that. Sellers must disclose known material defects even beyond the form, and if something on the notice becomes untrue before closing, Texas REALTORS describes a duty to correct it. And if a buyer shares an inspection report with you, you are treated as knowing what is in it, even if you never open it.

Texas REALTORS also says agents should not fill out the notice for sellers. The answers are yours. What I do is walk my sellers through what each section asks before the home is listed, so nothing on it is a surprise.

A short routine before you list takes care of the timing rule and the details the form asks for:

• Fill out the notice before the home goes on the market. It can then reach every buyer before an offer becomes a contract, which closes the 7-day exit.
• Pull your records first. Repair invoices, roof and foundation work, insurance claims and any flood history make sections 3 through 9 faster and more accurate.
• Use "unknown" only for what you do not know. Texas REALTORS ties that answer to a legitimate lack of knowledge.
• Update it when something changes. A new leak or repair after you sign is new information the buyer is owed.
• Keep the buyer's signed copy. The buyer's signature acknowledges receipt, which records when the notice was delivered.

If your home needs work you would rather not do, my post on selling a Frisco home as-is covers how that fits with disclosure.

If you are thinking about selling in Frisco, Texas and want to know what your home is worth before you start the paperwork, get my free home value with Plan A/B/C pricing on my home valuation page. You can read the short answer on my FAQ page and see every step on my selling your home page. If you want to walk through the notice together before you list, contact me.

Source: Texas Real Estate Commission, Seller's Disclosure Notice, TREC No. 55-1, and One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), TREC No. 20-19; Texas Property Code Section 5.008; Texas REALTORS legal FAQ on seller's disclosure. This is general information, not legal, tax, financial or insurance advice.