Massachusetts bill to require disclosure of environmental hazards to homebuyers

July 15, 2007 - Pamela Wooten says nobody told her when she bought a Charlton home in 2004 that it sat on a former junkyard needing some $150,000 of decontamination work.
“(The seller) didn’t say anything about the property’s condition and we didn’t think to ask,” said Wooten, who plans to testify this week in support of a state bill requiring sellers to disclose environmental hazards.
State Sen. Michael Morrissey (D-Quincy) and state Rep. Theodore Speliotis (D-Danvers) are sponsoring a measure to mandate disclosure of known environmental problems within a half-mile of homes. Sellers would have to either check government environmental databases themselves or hire private firms that specialize in such searches.

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