How do we fill out seller disclosures for a house we never lived in?
You disclose what you actually know — the law doesn't ask you to invent knowledge you don't have. Minnesota's disclosure rules run on actual knowledge of the property, and the law treats certain fiduciary and estate sales differently from a homeowner selling the house they live in. Exactly which rules apply to your sale is a question for the estate's attorney. I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice.
Whatever the legal floor turns out to be, two things serve you. Honesty about what you do know — the basement leaked in 2019, the furnace is original. And often, a pre-listing inspection. Buyers trust an estate sale that comes with a fresh inspection report far more than a blank shrug, and that trust tends to show up in the offers.
I prepare these sales regularly. I'll walk the forms with you and the attorney. Just call.
I wrote this answer, and I stand behind it. I'm Chris Deutsch, a Minneapolis Realtor (MN #20382264). Twenty-five years of walking these neighborhoods, checking basements, and sitting across kitchen tables from people making exactly this call. I re-check every answer and date it — this one was last verified .
If your situation is more specific than the market, that's the one worth talking through. Email me at chris@lakesarearealty.com.