The guiding principle of property sale in Florida is full disclosure. This means that the seller is legally bound to make a prospective purchaser aware of anything that is not readily observable, but that may affect the value of the property being sold. The seller's agent is similarly bound.

In order to prepare for contract negotiations, I ask the seller to complete a document known as The Seller's Real Property Disclosure Statement, or "Seller's Disclosure" for short. This is a series of questions and answers about the property that can be provided to any potential buyers at the start of negotiations to make them aware of all factors that affect the property - things like current occupancy of the home, home owners association requirements, utilities, the condition of the home (structural, wood rots, plumbing, electrical, for example), zoning, etc.

While the Seller's Disclosure does not form a part of the contract in Florida (it does in many other states), it is still a necessary part of the disclosure process, and the seller of the property must complete it accurately and diligently.

What happens if there is a question to which the seller does not know the answer, and does not know how to find out? A common example is 'are access roads private or public?'.

You should make a serious effort to find the answer, but if you are really stumped you may leave the question unanswered, but you need to be aware that if it is an issue that is important to the buyer it may re-emerge later in the selling process.

What happens if you answer a question in good faith, and it turns out later that you were wrong? This isn't too big a deal. When you sign the disclosure form you are signing that the information in the document is 'accurate and complete to the best of the seller's knowledge'. A genuine mistake is unlikely to become a major issue.

When you have completed the Seller's Disclosure to the best of your ability each owner on the title deed to the property should sign, print their name, and date it, then you should return it to me so that I can provide a copy of it to any buyer who intends to make an offer on the property.

The only other standard disclosure form that is always needed at an early stage is the Homeowner's Association Disclosure or the Condo Association Disclosure, whichever is appropriate. This is a simple document in which you disclose to potential buyers if Homeowners Asociation membership is compulsory, what the current payments are (monthly, quarterly or annual, depending on how payments are collected), and whether there are any special assessments or additional dues in force.

The seller should make sure that the information provided is up to date, and then initial the 'Sellers' boxes towards the top of the document.

At this stage the seller should have three documents completed and ready to return to the listing agent:

• The Listing Agreement
• The Seller's Disclosure
• The HOA/Condo Disclosure

In practice, the listing agreement will usually be completed first, with the other two documents prepared some time later.

Transmitting documents

There is no requirement in Florida law for original documents and signatures to be sent by mail or courier. Fax or email versions are legal and acceptable. Email is the best option, because these documents will be copied and sent on to several other parties, and the faxing process degrades their quality at each step.

Although this completes the legal documentation needed to start the selling process, there is additional information that I will need at some point, and it is a good idea to provide this at the start, as things can sometimes move very quickly once a property is listed for sale.

Two areas that should be covered at this time are the names, phone numbers, email addresses and mailing addresses of all sellers who appear on the title deed to the property, together with contact information for the mortgage lender if there is one.