What Do You Have to Disclose Selling a Home in Sioux Falls?

What do you have to disclose when selling a house in Sioux Falls?

In South Dakota, if you’re selling residential property you have to give the buyer a completed Seller’s Property Condition Disclosure Statement before they make a written offer. It covers the home’s structure, roof, systems, water source, septic or sewer, hazardous materials, and any material defect you already know about. A handful of sales — estate, divorce-ordered, and brand-new construction that’s never been lived in — are exempt, but even then you can’t hide a problem you know about.

By Brent Baker | September 28, 2026

If you’re getting ready to list in Sioux Falls, the disclosure form is one of the first documents you’ll sign — and one of the easiest to get wrong. Fill it out carefully and it protects you. Rush through it, leave something out, or check “no” when you should have checked “yes,” and it becomes the thing a buyer’s attorney points to six months after closing.

Here’s what South Dakota actually requires, what’s exempt, and where sellers get tripped up — including the extra rules that kick in if your property sits on the Minnesota side of the Sioux Empire.

The form you’re required to fill out

South Dakota law (SDCL 43-4-37 and following) requires the seller of residential real property to complete and deliver the Seller’s Property Condition Disclosure Statement. It’s a standardized form from the South Dakota Real Estate Commission, and the current version is dated July 2025.

The timing matters. You’re supposed to hand it to the buyer before they make a written offer. If the buyer doesn’t receive it until after they’ve made an offer, South Dakota gives them the right to rescind — to back out — within three days of getting it. That’s three days where an otherwise-solid deal can evaporate over paperwork, which is exactly why you want it done right up front.

You also have an ongoing duty. If something changes or you learn about a new problem between handing over the form and the day you close, you have to amend it. And the law only protects you if you complete the form truthfully and in good faith. Disclosure isn’t about having a perfect house — it’s about being honest about the house you have.

What you actually have to disclose

The form walks through the property system by system. In plain terms, you’re telling the buyer what you know about:

The structure — roof, foundation, basement, water intrusion, past flooding, and any known damage
The systems — heating, cooling, electrical, and plumbing, and whether they work
Water source — whether the home is on city water or a private well, and the date and results of the last well test
Sewer or septic — whether you’re on the city system or a private septic or on-site wastewater system, and when the tank was last pumped
Hazardous conditions — radon, mold, asbestos, buried fuel tanks, and similar concerns
Title and lot issues — easements, encroachments, boundary questions, flood-zone status, and any homeowners association obligations
Anything else material — the form ends with a catch-all for any other fact that would matter to a buyer

The standard I give every seller is simple: if you’d want to know it as a buyer, disclose it. You don’t have to guess about things you genuinely don’t know — “unknown” is a legitimate answer — but you can’t check “no problem” when you’ve been putting a bucket under a pipe every spring.

Wells and septic: the rural piece most sellers underestimate

Sioux Falls keeps pushing out in every direction, and more buyers are looking at acreages and homes on an acre or more just outside town. If that’s your property, the water and septic lines on the disclosure carry more weight than almost anything else on the form.

Buyers financing an acreage will usually want a water test and a septic inspection, and their lender may require both. If you already know your well tested high for nitrates, or your septic system is near the end of its life, that belongs on the form — not sprung on the buyer during their inspection. Getting ahead of it keeps the deal from stalling. Selling an acreage near Sioux Falls has a few more moving parts than an in-town sale, and the disclosure is where several of them show up first.

Estate and divorce sales: exempt, but not a free pass

Here’s where a lot of Sioux Falls sellers are surprised. South Dakota exempts several kinds of sales from the disclosure requirement entirely, including:

Estate sales — transfers by a personal representative or fiduciary administering a decedent’s estate, and transfers ordered by a probate court
Divorce transfers — transfers between spouses under a judgment of dissolution or legal separation
Trusts, guardianships, and conservatorships
Foreclosures and deeds in lieu of foreclosure
Transfers between co-owners and to close family — spouses, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren, and grandparents
Brand-new construction that has never been occupied

If you’re settling a parent’s estate or dividing property in a divorce, you may not be legally required to complete the form. But exempt doesn’t mean you can conceal a known defect. South Dakota’s fraud and consumer-protection laws still apply, so actively hiding a bad foundation or a leaking roof can come back on you even on an exempt sale.

Many personal representatives choose to sell “as-is” with a clear written statement that they’ve never lived in the home and have no knowledge of its condition — honest and protective at the same time. If you’re selling an inherited home or working through a divorce sale, this is worth a conversation before you list.

The new-construction angle for competing sellers

Notice that builders selling a never-occupied home are exempt too. So the family touring a shiny new build down the road gets no disclosure at all — while your resale home comes with a signed statement about its condition. That’s not a disadvantage. Handled right, a complete, honest disclosure is a trust signal a spec home can’t match, and one more reason a well-kept existing home can hold its own against new construction in this market.

If your property is in Minnesota

The Sioux Empire spills into southwest Minnesota, and Minnesota runs a different playbook. If your home is across the state line, you’re under Minnesota’s disclosure law (Minn. Stat. 513.52–513.60), which requires a written disclosure of all material facts you know that could affect a buyer’s use or enjoyment of the property. On top of that general disclosure, Minnesota requires several separate ones:

A well disclosure identifying the location and status of every well on the property
A septic or subsurface sewage treatment system disclosure
A methamphetamine-production disclosure if you know the home was used to produce meth
A radon disclosure
A farmed-Cervidae disclosure if the land was used to raise farmed deer or elk, which ties into chronic wasting disease rules and comes up on some rural Minnesota parcels

Minnesota does let buyers and sellers waive the general disclosure by written agreement, but the well, septic, meth, and radon items can’t be waived. Point-of-sale “Truth-in-Housing” inspections exist in some Minnesota cities, but that’s a metro-area rule, not something most small southwest Minnesota communities require.

The costs differ too. When you sell, South Dakota charges a Real Estate Transfer Fee of about $1 for every $1,000 of price — roughly $400 on a $400,000 home. Minnesota’s State Deed Tax runs $3.30 per $1,000 — about $1,320 on that same $400,000 sale. Small line item, real dollars, and one more reason the state line changes your math. It’s part of what you’ll actually net at closing.

Why this matters more in today’s market

Inventory around Sioux Falls is tight. Active listings were down roughly 30% year over year this past summer, and sellers were still getting close to 99% of their asking price, per Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire figures. That’s a strong position to sell from. But a tight market doesn’t erase inspection contingencies, and a surprise defect discovered mid-deal is still one of the most common reasons a Sioux Falls sale falls apart or gets renegotiated.

A clean, honest disclosure up front does two things: it keeps your buyer confident, and it protects you from a claim down the road. Your specific situation — what to disclose, whether you’re exempt, how to word an as-is estate sale — depends on your property and your circumstances. That’s exactly the kind of thing I walk sellers through before we ever put a sign in the yard. For the bigger picture, here’s how the whole Sioux Falls selling process works.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to fill out a disclosure if I’m selling an inherited home in Sioux Falls?
Usually no. Transfers by a personal representative or fiduciary administering an estate are exempt from South Dakota’s disclosure requirement. But you still can’t actively hide a defect you know about, and many personal representatives disclose known issues or sell clearly “as-is” to stay protected.

What happens if I don’t disclose a known problem?
If you knowingly conceal a material defect, the buyer can back out before closing or come after you afterward for the cost of the repair — and potentially more under South Dakota’s fraud and consumer-protection laws. Honest disclosure, even of an ugly issue, is almost always cheaper than a lawsuit.

Do I need to disclose a private well or septic system?
Yes. The South Dakota form specifically asks whether the home is on public or private water and sewer, the date and results of your last well test, and when the septic tank was last pumped. On acreages and rural properties, this is often the first thing a buyer’s lender and inspector look at.

Is new construction exempt from disclosure in South Dakota?
Yes. A newly built home that has never been occupied is exempt, which is why builders don’t hand buyers a condition disclosure. On a resale, your completed disclosure becomes a trust advantage a brand-new home can’t offer.

Are the rules different if my property is in Minnesota?
Yes. Minnesota requires a general material-facts disclosure plus separate well, septic, methamphetamine, radon, and farmed-Cervidae disclosures, and its State Deed Tax is higher than South Dakota’s transfer fee. If your Sioux Empire property is across the state line, the paperwork and the closing costs both change.

The bottom line

Selling in Sioux Falls comes down to being straight about what you’re selling, and the disclosure form is where that starts. Get it right and it keeps good deals together; get it wrong and it’s the first thing anyone points to when a sale goes sideways.

Whether you’re filling out the full statement, sorting out an exemption on an estate or divorce sale, or figuring out how the Minnesota rules apply to your acreage, it helps to have someone who does this every week. If you’re thinking through a sale, I’m happy to walk you through exactly what you’ll need to disclose and what it means for your bottom line. Reach out anytime.

About Brent Baker
Brent Baker is a REALTOR® licensed in South Dakota and Minnesota who helps buyers and sellers navigate residential, rural, and land transactions with confidence. Raised on a farm in southwest Minnesota, he brings a strong work ethic, honest guidance, and a calm, straightforward approach to every client relationship. Brent is committed to helping people make informed decisions while building lasting relationships founded on integrity, professionalism, and trust.