About this video. The person on screen is an avatar generated by artificial intelligence in my likeness. The voice is mine, cloned from recordings of my own voice, and the edit adjusts the sound. The image and the voice may therefore differ from my real appearance and speech. The text is written and validated by me, and I am fully responsible for it. This method lets me publish regularly; it changes nothing about what is said. This video is in French — a full transcript in English is provided below.
Hello. There’s one question homeowners ask me more than any other. I had a crack repaired a few years ago — do I have to declare it?
The question, as it’s asked: “do I have to declare a repaired crack”
The repaired crack: what you know, and what you don’t
You had a crack repaired five years ago. Does it get declared? Yes — and here’s exactly what to write.
Let’s start with the most frequent question of all.
A repair you asked for, paid for and watched being done — you know it. It’s a dated fact.
What you know comes down to four things. There was a crack, in such a spot. You called such a company. The work was done on such a date. Here’s the invoice.
What you don’t know is why it was there, and what the repair actually fixed. A crack gets assessed by a structural engineer.
The practical rule: the invoice with the document, the company’s name with the invoice. And the scope of what you declare gets validated with your notary.
A repair inherited with no invoice or date
A repair done before your time, with no invoice and no date. What you know is the trace — and that’s enough to write it down.
Here’s the situation that stops the most homeowners: a repair done before you, which you inherited with no documentation at all.
You can clearly see something happened. A lighter band of concrete at the bottom of a wall. A sump pit that wasn’t there at the start. No invoice, no date.
What you know is exactly that. You observed a trace of work. You don’t know who, or when, or why. Writing “I don’t know” when you don’t know is still declaring what you know.
Two useful moves. Dig out the documents you received when you bought the place yourself. And photograph the trace, with the date.
Does an old water event still get declared?
Water in the basement twelve years ago, fixed since. Time gone by does not erase what you know.
A case that comes up often: water in the basement, a long time ago.
A spring of fast melt. A backup. Since then, nothing — the floor was redone, you don’t think about it anymore.
The principle doesn’t move. It happened, you were there, so you know it. Time gone by does not erase it.
What you can write is the fact and its date. Water came in at such a spot, such a year. Here’s what was done afterward, and by whom.
What you don’t have to write is where it came from. Tying water to its cause is an engineer’s work.
And remember this: the French drain is buried. What we see are symptoms.
A neighbour dispute and an easement: settled is not erased
A neighbour dispute settled four years ago. Many think it no longer exists. The principle makes no such distinction.
A subject homeowners avoid, and that’s exactly why we’re covering it.
A fence put up after a verbal agreement. A right of way across your land. A lawyer’s letter received four years ago, and settled since.
Many think a settled matter no longer exists. The principle makes no such distinction. What you know, you know.
Pull out your documents: the written agreement, the letter, the email. And reread your deed of sale — easements are recorded there.
I’m not going to tell you what to write or how. That question belongs to your notary, and you bring your documents to them before filling out anything.
What was added to the lot since the certificate of location
Take out your certificate of location and look at its date. Then look outside. The shed, the pool, the deck.
On your lot, things have changed since the last certificate of location.
It’s the document prepared by a land surveyor that shows your lot, your building, and what’s on it. Take out yours, and look at its date first.
Then look outside. Does what’s drawn match what exists today? The shed added since. The pool. The deck that was enlarged. The fence that was moved.
If your lot has changed since that date, that’s information you know.
I won’t tell you whether your certificate still holds. The land surveyor produces the document; your notary tells you what your situation requires.
This week: find yours, and compare it with your lot.
Selling an estate without having lived in the property
Selling a parent’s house without having lived there. The principle doesn’t disappear — it flips around.
A frequent case: an estate. You’re selling a parent’s house, you never lived in it.
Here, the principle doesn’t disappear — it flips around. You declare what you know. And you know very little.
Writing “I don’t know,” when it’s true, is an answer. How to write it so it’s accurate gets validated with your notary.
What helps enormously: look for the papers. The person’s files. The invoices kept in a drawer. The home insurance statements.
And talk to your notary early. An estate sale is prepared differently, and there are documents specific to that situation. It’s the case where they should come in the earliest.
Well and septic system: what you actually know
Well and septic tank: two systems you use every day and never see.
A property that isn’t connected to municipal services has two extra elements: the well, and the septic system.
Two systems you use every day and almost never see. That’s what makes the case difficult.
What you know is broader than you think. The date of your water tests. The last emptying of the tank, and by whom. The maintenance you paid for. A backup, if there was one.
What you don’t know is the capacity, the compliance and the condition of what’s buried.
Two calls before you fill anything out. Your municipality, for what’s on your file. And the company that empties your tank — it has dates.
Year of construction: what the eye cannot see
Some materials can’t be seen with the eye. Not yours, not an inspector’s. Only a laboratory answers.
One category stands apart: what can’t be seen, and depends on the year of construction.
Some materials can’t be seen with the eye. Not yours, not mine, not an inspector’s. They’re established in a laboratory, on a collected sample.
So what do you know? The year of construction. The tests you had done, if any, and their results. The work that touched those areas. Nothing else.
What you don’t write is a conclusion. You don’t say there is any. You don’t say there isn’t.
If you want to know, the answer comes from an accredited laboratory.
The three questions that cover every other case
Your case isn’t on any list? Three questions cover them all. The first: did I see it, live it, or pay for it?
Your situation may not be in any of the cases I just named. There are dozens. Here are the three questions that cover them all.
First: did I see it, live it, pay for it, or receive it in writing? If yes, I know it. Time gone by changes nothing, and neither does the fact that it’s settled.
Second: is what I’m about to write a fact, or a conclusion? A date, an amount paid, a company’s name are facts. A cause, a severity, a prediction about an element’s future: those are conclusions, and they don’t belong to you.
Third: if I don’t know, do I write it? Yes.
And if a doubt remains, it goes to your notary.
The folder method before filling out the form
In twenty minutes, you write what you remember. With a week ahead of you, you write what you found.
Let’s end with the one thing that depends entirely on you: the time you put in.
This document often gets filled out at the kitchen table, in twenty minutes. In twenty minutes, you write what you remember. With a week ahead of you, you write what you found.
The method fits in a cardboard folder. Inside, four things. The invoices for all the work. The dated photos — your phone dates them on its own. The expert reports you already have. And your property documents.
You build the folder first. You fill out the form second. Never the other way around.
It’s the same content either way. It’s not the same timeline.
Who to call, and for what
I don’t do the inspection. My role is to know where to look and who to call.
- Notary
- Structural engineer
- Decontamination specialist
- Crack repair specialist
- General contractor
- Land surveyor
- Municipal planning department
- Accredited laboratory
Frequently asked questions
Get a value report for your property, and a marketing plan
Get a value report for your property, and a marketing plan — comparables, features, opinion of value
Full transcript of the video
Complete transcript of the video above (translated from French). Published on September 15, 2026.
Hello. There’s one question homeowners ask me more than any other. I had a crack repaired a few years ago — do I have to declare it?
My name is Ernso Cléus. I’m a residential and commercial real estate broker at RE/MAX Crystal.
This video isn’t about the rules of the seller’s declaration. It’s about the specific cases that make sellers hesitate, and that stall a form for a week.
A single principle runs through all of them, and it fits in one sentence. You declare what you know. Not what you assume, not what you estimate. What you know.
I’m neither a notary nor a lawyer, and nothing I’m about to say is legal advice.
The repaired crack: do I have to declare it
Let’s start with the most frequent question of all.
A repair you asked for, paid for and watched being done — you know it. It’s a dated fact.
What you know comes down to four things. There was a crack, in such a spot. You called such a company. The work was done on such a date. Here’s the invoice.
What you don’t know is why it was there, and what the repair actually fixed. A crack gets assessed by a structural engineer.
The practical rule: the invoice with the document, the company’s name with the invoice. And the scope of what you declare gets validated with your notary.
An inherited repair, with no documents at all
Here’s the situation that stops the most homeowners: a repair done before you, which you inherited with no documentation at all.
You can clearly see something happened. A lighter band of concrete at the bottom of a wall. A sump pit that wasn’t there at the start. No invoice, no date.
What you know is exactly that. You observed a trace of work. You don’t know who, or when, or why. Writing “I don’t know” when you don’t know is still declaring what you know.
Two useful moves. Dig out the documents you received when you bought the place yourself. And photograph the trace, with the date.
The old water event
A case that comes up often: water in the basement, a long time ago.
A spring of fast melt. A backup. Since then, nothing — the floor was redone, you don’t think about it anymore.
The principle doesn’t move. It happened, you were there, so you know it. Time gone by does not erase it.
What you can write is the fact and its date. Water came in at such a spot, such a year. Here’s what was done afterward, and by whom.
What you don’t have to write is where it came from. Tying water to its cause is an engineer’s work.
And remember this: the French drain is buried. What we see are symptoms.
The neighbour dispute and the easement
A subject homeowners avoid, and that’s exactly why we’re covering it.
A fence put up after a verbal agreement. A right of way across your land. A lawyer’s letter received four years ago, and settled since.
Many think a settled matter no longer exists. The principle makes no such distinction. What you know, you know.
Pull out your documents: the written agreement, the letter, the email. And reread your deed of sale — easements are recorded there.
I’m not going to tell you what to write or how. That question belongs to your notary, and you bring your documents to them before filling out anything.
What was added to the lot since the certificate
On your lot, things have changed since the last certificate of location.
It’s the document prepared by a land surveyor that shows your lot, your building, and what’s on it. Take out yours, and look at its date first.
Then look outside. Does what’s drawn match what exists today? The shed added since. The pool. The deck that was enlarged. The fence that was moved.
If your lot has changed since that date, that’s information you know.
I won’t tell you whether your certificate still holds. The land surveyor produces the document; your notary tells you what your situation requires.
This week: find yours, and compare it with your lot.
The estate, and the seller who never lived in the property
A frequent case: an estate. You’re selling a parent’s house, you never lived in it.
Here, the principle doesn’t disappear — it flips around. You declare what you know. And you know very little.
Writing “I don’t know,” when it’s true, is an answer. How to write it so it’s accurate gets validated with your notary.
What helps enormously: look for the papers. The person’s files. The invoices kept in a drawer. The home insurance statements.
And talk to your notary early. An estate sale is prepared differently, and there are documents specific to that situation. It’s the case where they should come in the earliest.
The well and the septic system
A property that isn’t connected to municipal services has two extra elements: the well, and the septic system.
Two systems you use every day and almost never see. That’s what makes the case difficult.
What you know is broader than you think. The date of your water tests. The last emptying of the tank, and by whom. The maintenance you paid for. A backup, if there was one.
What you don’t know is the capacity, the compliance and the condition of what’s buried.
Two calls before you fill anything out. Your municipality, for what’s on your file. And the company that empties your tank — it has dates.
The year of construction and what the eye cannot see
One category stands apart: what can’t be seen, and depends on the year of construction.
Some materials can’t be seen with the eye. Not yours, not mine, not an inspector’s. They’re established in a laboratory, on a collected sample.
So what do you know? The year of construction. The tests you had done, if any, and their results. The work that touched those areas. Nothing else.
What you don’t write is a conclusion. You don’t say there is any. You don’t say there isn’t.
If you want to know, the answer comes from an accredited laboratory.
The case you have that isn’t on this list
Your situation may not be in any of the cases I just named. There are dozens. Here are the three questions that cover them all.
First: did I see it, live it, pay for it, or receive it in writing? If yes, I know it. Time gone by changes nothing, and neither does the fact that it’s settled.
Second: is what I’m about to write a fact, or a conclusion? A date, an amount paid, a company’s name are facts. A cause, a severity, a prediction about an element’s future: those are conclusions, and they don’t belong to you.
Third: if I don’t know, do I write it? Yes.
And if a doubt remains, it goes to your notary.
The folder method, and the time you put in
Let’s end with the one thing that depends entirely on you: the time you put in.
This document often gets filled out at the kitchen table, in twenty minutes. In twenty minutes, you write what you remember. With a week ahead of you, you write what you found.
The method fits in a cardboard folder. Inside, four things. The invoices for all the work. The dated photos — your phone dates them on its own. The expert reports you already have. And your property documents.
You build the folder first. You fill out the form second. Never the other way around.
It’s the same content either way. It’s not the same timeline.
What you know gets declared. What you don’t know doesn’t get invented.
Before you fill out anything, a seller’s first question is still the value of their property. I produce a value report: the comparable sales in your area, the features that count, and what I draw from them. And I also offer a marketing plan for your property. It commits you to nothing. Request it in the links below the video.
If you’re already bound by a brokerage contract with another broker, this invitation isn’t for you.
I don’t put a figure on work, I attribute no cause, and I act as an inspector in no transaction.
Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker, RE/MAX Crystal. Your broker who knows buildings.
Read also: selling your house with a broker · all the advice for sellers · get in touch
Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker — RE/MAX Crystal. Your broker who knows buildings.
