Note: This is part 5 of our articles on the Utah REPC 2027 updates. See the previous articles for more details.
Title and the Buyer’s Conditions
Most title-insurance language remains familiar. The revised text makes clear that title obligations remain subject to the buyer’s rights under the conditions-of-purchase section. Agents should read the provisions together rather than assuming that the title section operates independently from the buyer’s elected conditions.
Expanded HOA Disclosures
The seller-disclosure provisions require more useful HOA information. In addition to governing documents, minutes, budgets, and financial information, the package now addresses bylaws, fee and fine schedules, and the association’s reserve analysis.
The fee and fine schedule helps a buyer understand recurring charges and conduct-related costs. The reserve analysis looks further ahead: it evaluates major components the association must repair or replace and the funds expected to be available for that work.
Why the Reserve Analysis Matters
An association can keep current dues low by failing to save enough for future roofs, roads, siding, mechanical systems, or other common elements. When the repair becomes unavoidable, owners may face a large special assessment. A buyer who studies the reserve analysis is in a better position to identify that risk before closing.
Lenders may also consider reserve adequacy when evaluating a condominium or other HOA property. A weak reserve position can therefore affect both the buyer’s future costs and the availability of financing.
Real estate agents should help clients obtain the document and recognize its purpose, but should not present themselves as engineers, reserve-study specialists, accountants, or attorneys. When the report raises concerns, the buyer may need advice from the appropriate professional.
Proposed Insurability Language Was Removed
During the drafting process, a version reportedly required the seller to disclose known problems affecting the property’s insurability. That provision was removed during Attorney General review and is not part of the approved language discussed in this series.
Its removal does not make insurance irrelevant. Premiums, exclusions, prior claims, property condition, geographic risks, and underwriting rules can materially affect ownership and financing. Buyers should investigate insurance availability and cost during due diligence rather than waiting until the closing deadline.
Lead-Based Paint in Due Diligence
The due-diligence list now expressly mentions lead-based paint. Federal disclosure duties and any required lead-based-paint forms still apply. Adding the topic to the REPC does not eliminate a separate federal addendum or disclosure when one is required.
Seller Cooperation With the Appraisal
The appraisal condition now says that the seller will cooperate with the buyer’s appraisal. This closes a practical gap created when a seller or occupant delays access, refuses entry, or otherwise prevents the lender’s appraiser from completing the assignment.
Cooperation does not require the seller to agree with the result. It requires the seller to allow the process contemplated by the buyer’s elected appraisal condition.
Cancellation Requires a Complete Copy of the Appraisal
If the property appraises below the purchase price and the buyer cancels under the appraisal condition, the buyer must provide a complete copy of the appraisal. The seller therefore receives more than a statement of the appraised value; the report may contain comparable sales, adjustments, property-condition observations, photographs, and the appraiser’s reasoning.
Agents should not assume that a summary, automated valuation, desktop product, or request for reconsideration satisfies the requirement. The word ‘complete’ may become important when a dispute arises.
The delivery requirement also raises a privacy question if the report contains buyer-specific or loan-specific information. Whether anything may or should be redacted is a question to address with the lender and legal counsel before the cancellation deadline.
Appraisal Is Separate From Financing
The new form expressly separates the appraisal cancellation right from other rights, including financing. That distinction matters because cancellation under the financing condition may release a negotiated percentage of earnest money to the seller, while an appraisal cancellation follows its own terms.
Agents should identify the actual contractual basis for a cancellation and deliver the documents that particular condition requires.
Page 4 Takeaway
Page four gives buyers better access to HOA financial risk and gives sellers better access to the appraisal when a buyer relies on it to cancel. Both changes improve information, but they also create new process responsibilities: obtain and review the reserve analysis early, cooperate with appraisal access, and plan for timely delivery of the complete report.
Official references: Utah State Approved Forms and Utah Code 61-2f.
Educational disclaimer: This general educational summary is not legal or tax advice. Consult the final approved form, the principal broker, and qualified legal or tax counsel as appropriate.