Committee hears bill to give owners rights to appraisals in solicited property sales

Substitute House Bill 1081, presented to the Senate Business, Financial Services, Gaming & Trade Committee, would create a statutory appraisal right and short cancellation window for owners whose properties are solicited directly by buyers who are not using a licensed real-estate broker.

Committee staff summarized the measure’s core protections: when a buyer who solicits an owner executes a purchase contract for a property that is not publicly listed, the owner would have the right to select a licensed appraiser at the buyer’s expense; the appraisal must be ordered within three days of contract execution, and the owner may cancel the purchase contract without penalty within four days of receiving the appraisal. Owners who decline the appraisal would have 10 days to cancel without penalty. Staff said violations could be enforced under the Consumer Protection Act.

Sponsor Brandy Donaghy, a state representative, said the bill is designed “to ensure that when that is done, it’s not done in a predatory manner,” describing scenarios in which elderly or otherwise vulnerable homeowners accept offers far below market value after direct solicitations. “We just want to make it easier,” Donaghy said, adding that the bill does not apply to transactions involving a real-estate broker or to properties already listed for sale.

Senators pressed for practical clarifications: who pays for the appraisal (the buyer), whether the appraisal must be turned over to the owner (the seller orders the appraisal and would receive it), and when the right is triggered (after a contract is signed). Staff and the sponsor reiterated that the protection applies only to solicited transactions without broker involvement and does not address foreclosures, which the bill does not mention.

The committee closed public hearing on HB 10-81 after the staff and sponsor presentations; no committee vote occurred during the session.