As-Is Home Sale Disclosures Still Required in Henderson, TN

"If I sell as-is, do I still have to disclose anything?"

It's one of the first questions sellers ask when they decide not to make repairs before listing a home in Henderson. The short answer they usually want is no. The accurate answer is more specific, and it matters more here than in a lot of Tennessee markets, because so much of Chester County outside the city limits runs on private well and septic rather than municipal water and sewer.

According to PropCash, Tennessee law lets a seller skip the standard disclosure form, but it does not let four specific items disappear just because the word "as-is" shows up in the listing. For a property with a septic system, that includes the results of any known percolation test or soil absorption test performed on the property and accepted by the state, as specified in the Tennessee Residential Property Condition Exemption, even when a buyer waives the general disclosure form.

What "As-Is" Actually Waives

The Tennessee Residential Property Disclosure Act gives sellers of one-to-four-unit residential property three legal paths, not one. The first is the standard route: complete the Residential Property Condition Disclosure (form RF 201) and answer every question in good faith based on what you actually know. The second is the disclaimer statement (form RF 204), which is what most people mean when they say "as-is." The third is a statutory exemption, available only for specific situations: court-ordered transfers, foreclosures, probate sales, or an owner who hasn't lived on the property within the past three years, which covers a lot of landlords, heirs, and out-of-state owners but not the typical owner-occupant selling their own home.

Here's the part that surprises most first-time sellers. The Tennessee Residential Property Condition Disclosure form says the disclaimer path only works if the buyer agrees to it in writing. A seller cannot unilaterally declare a home "as-is" and skip the disclosure form. The buyer has to sign a waiver accepting that route. That means an ordinary owner-occupied sale really only has two live options: full disclosure, or a disclaimer that the other side has to consent to.

The Four Things You Can't Wave Away

Even when a buyer signs that waiver, Tennessee law still requires the seller to disclose four items in writing, no matter which of the three paths applies:

• Any known sinkholes on the property
• Any known exterior injection well
• The results of any known percolation test or soil absorption rate performed on the property and accepted by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
• Whether the property sits inside a Planned Unit Development, and, if the buyer asks, a copy of the restrictive covenants, homeowner bylaws, and master deed, as specified in the RF 204 form

The legislature drew a line between subjective judgment calls and objective, testable facts. Whether a water stain in the crawl space counts as a "material defect" is a matter of opinion the disclaimer form is built to sidestep. Whether a soil absorption test came back passing or failing is a recorded fact, and Tennessee decided a buyer doesn't lose access to that fact just because they waived the general disclosure form.

Notice that the right column is identical on the bottom two rows. There is no version of a Tennessee residential sale where these four items simply go away.

Why This Hits Harder in Henderson Than in a Fully-Sewered Subdivision

In a subdivision on city water and sewer, the percolation test line on that form is often blank, because there's no septic system to test. Henderson's in-town properties are served by the Henderson Gas and Water Department, which operates the water treatment facility, the wastewater collection system, and three sewage treatment lagoons out of an office at City Hall. If your home sits inside that service area, this whole conversation may not apply to you.

Step outside the city limits into the rest of Chester County, and the picture changes. A meaningful share of homes and buildable lots in the area rely on private wells and septic systems instead of municipal service, something we've written about in our guide to daily life in Henderson. Those systems don't get installed or repaired without a permit, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is the agency that oversees septic permitting in rural counties like Chester. The state's own list of permitted septic installers includes contractors licensed to work specifically within Chester County, which tells you this is active, ongoing infrastructure, not a historical footnote.

A soil absorption test may be in the file for a permitted installation. When a known test has been performed and accepted by the state, its results are among the items an as-is sale cannot skip. A seller who assumes "as-is" means a clean exit from paperwork should check whether they have known test results to disclose.

Henderson Subdivision Lots

For anyone buying or selling a lot in one of Henderson's platted subdivisions, covenants often govern everything from setbacks to exterior materials.

What to Pull Before You List

If you're preparing to sell a Henderson-area property on well and septic, the practical move is to locate your percolation test and soil absorption records before you ever sign a listing agreement, not after a buyer asks. That usually means checking with whoever installed or last serviced the system, or reaching out to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's regional office if the system predates your ownership and you don't have the paperwork on hand. If you genuinely don't have that history and the system predates your purchase, say so in writing. Tennessee law only requires disclosure of what you actually know. It does not require you to hire someone to dig up a test that was never performed or that you have no record of.

What Buyers Should Ask For, Even in an As-Is Deal

If you're buying a Henderson-area home and the seller wants you to sign an as-is disclaimer, sign it if the price and terms make sense for you, but ask for the four carve-out items by name. Ask specifically for the percolation or soil absorption test results, not just "the septic paperwork," since the legal requirement is tied to that specific document. If the property is inside a covenant-restricted subdivision, ask for the covenants and bylaws in the same request. None of this requires renegotiating the as-is terms. It's simply asking for what the law already entitles you to.

There's a second document worth asking about that has nothing to do with the state disclosure act but comes up constantly in older Henderson-area homes: the federal lead-based paint disclosure. According to List With Clever, any home built before 1978 requires the seller to provide an EPA pamphlet on lead hazards, disclose any known lead-based paint, and give the buyer a ten-day window to conduct a lead inspection if they want one.

Quick Answers

If you're preparing to list a Henderson-area property on well and septic, or you're evaluating a lot inside one of the area's covenant-restricted subdivisions, this is exactly the kind of detail that's easy to miss and expensive to get wrong. Stellar Realty Group works these transactions locally every week. Call or message Destiny today for a free consultation and home valuation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.