Disclosure Requirements for Neighbor’s Nudist Activities

Question: We live in a North Phoenix area near the Carefree Highway. We recently learned from our two boys that our neighbors next door were having “wild” parties on weekends. Apparently when our two boys are jumping on the trampoline in our back yard they can sometimes see nude people in our neighbor’s back yard. When we asked another neighbor about these “wild” parties, this neighbor said that these “wild” parties were not really “wild” at all. She said that those neighbors are members of a nudist group, and that they have gatherings in their back yard on the weekends with the prohibition of any alcoholic beverages. We are planning on selling our home at the end of this year. Will we have to disclose to potential buyers these “wild” parties by our neighbors next door?

Answer: First, get rid of the trampoline! Second, and more seriously, the law is that a seller generally has to disclose material and adverse facts about a home and the surrounding neighborhood to a buyer. For example, neighbors walking nude in the front yard is probably a material and adverse fact requiring disclosure. Neighbors on the weekends walking nude in their own back yard, however, and visible only to your two boys jumping on a trampoline, is probably not a material and adverse fact.

Note: Sellers and their real estate agents spend hours discussing what is a material and adverse fact about a home that must be disclosed to a buyer. The law, however, is simple. If it is a material and adverse fact, it must be disclosed to the buyer. If it is not a material and adverse fact, then why not disclose it to the buyer?