"Buying in St. Paul, Minnesota: What Does the Truth-in-Sale of Housing Report Tell You Before You Make an Offer?"

You walk into a showing on a 1920s story-and-a-half in St. Paul, and on the dining room table, next to the listing sheet, there is a report with the City of Saint Paul's name across the top. It runs item by item through the basement, the kitchen, the bathrooms and the garage, and beside each item is a single letter. Most of them are M. A few are B. One, on the basement stairs, is H.

In St. Paul, Minnesota, the seller has to have a city-licensed evaluator complete a Truth-in-Sale of Housing report before the home is marketed, and keep it available for you to read. It records what the evaluator saw on the day of the visit, item by item. It is a disclosure, so you'll still want your own home inspection before you commit.

I'm Jeff Moran, a mortgage broker in Bluffton, South Carolina, originating since 1996, licensed in fifteen states, including Minnesota, NMLS #483943, through C2 Financial Corporation.

What is a Truth-in-Sale of Housing report in St. Paul?

It is a city-required evaluation of a home's condition, ordered by the seller and written for anyone thinking about buying it. The city calls it the TISH report for short. The City of Saint Paul's Truth-in-Sale of Housing page says single-family homes, duplexes, condominiums and townhomes have to have a TISH evaluation completed before the property is marketed for sale. Buildings with three or more units, commercial buildings and mixed-use buildings are exempt.

The evaluation has to be done by an evaluator the City of Saint Paul licenses. The seller or the seller's agent hires that evaluator. Evaluators are private contractors, and the city does not recommend one over another.

The rule belongs to the City of Saint Paul, and it stops at the city line. Several other cities in the Twin Cities run their own programs, and a home just across a city line may have no report at all. Buying a home in Minneapolis and St. Paul lists which cities in the metro have a point-of-sale program (a city inspection or evaluation required when a home is sold), so you'll know which homes on your list come with one.

A St. Paul TISH report is done before the home is listed, and you can read it

The city's Truth-in-Sale of Housing report requirements under Chapter 189.03 say a valid report has to be conspicuously displayed at the property while it is for sale. The same requirements say the report has to be given to the buyer before or at the time of sale.

The city's TISH program summary and FAQs add two details worth knowing as you shop:

• The report has to be available for any potential buyer to view within three calendar days of the listing. If you are looking at a St. Paul home that has been on the market for a week, the report should already be done.
• A report is good for one year, 365 consecutive days from the date it was issued, and only for one sale by the owner named on it. The date on the cover tells you how fresh the information is.

You can also look a report up yourself. The city says a Truth-in-Sale of Housing report can be found through Saint Paul Online Services, so you can read it before you ever schedule a showing.

The city accepts two alternatives in place of a TISH report, as long as each is less than a year old when the purchase agreement is signed. One is a letter of code compliance from the city's vacant buildings inspector, and the other is a Certificate of Occupancy from the Fire Inspection Division.

The city's TISH basics, forms and links sheet says failing to get the report, or failing to make it available to prospective buyers, is a misdemeanor that can carry up to 90 days and a $1,000 fine. For you, it means the report should already be there when you start looking.

A St. Paul TISH report covers what the evaluator can see

The evaluator walks the home and rates what can be seen. The city's sample TISH report runs through numbered items grouped by area: the basement, the bathrooms, the kitchen, the exterior, the garage and the fireplace. It includes items like electrical wiring and outlets, the carbon monoxide alarm, stairs and handrails, and drainage around the foundation.

The city's program summary says the report is for disclosure, to give prospective buyers basic information about observed conditions at the time of the evaluation. It also says neither the City of Saint Paul nor the evaluator warrants the condition of the building components.

So the report is a snapshot of what was visible on one day, and anything the evaluator could not see gets marked that way.

How to read a St. Paul TISH report

The city's sample report rates each item with one of four letters:

• M, Meets Minimum. The item met the city's minimum standard when the evaluator looked at it.
• C, See Comments. The evaluator wrote a note about it.
• B, Below Minimum. The item fell short of the minimum standard.
• H, Hazardous Condition. The evaluator saw something that may be a safety hazard.

Items can also be marked NV, meaning not visible, or NA, meaning not applicable. The city's uniform guidelines for evaluators set out what the evaluator checks on each item. On the basement stairs, for example, the evaluator checks whether the stairway is safe to use and can carry the load of normal use.

I'd start with the date, then go straight to every H and every B, then read every comment, and finish with the NV items. An NV on the attic or the roof covering is a list of places your own inspector should look closely.

TISH report vs. home inspection: why you still want both

The two documents do different jobs, and you can only rely on one of them as your own. The TISH evaluator is hired by the seller to meet a city disclosure rule, and the report is written for anyone who walks through the door. Your home inspector works for you, on your schedule, and answers your questions about this specific home. The city's Selling or Buying Properties page says a TISH evaluation is not a substitute for an inspection.

The TISH report is a head start. It tells you before you write an offer where the evaluator found something below the minimum, so you can decide what to offer and what to ask your inspector to look at. Your inspection, done inside your contingency period, is where you find out what those items mean and what they would cost to address. What to do with your home inspection report covers how to work through that report once it arrives.

The TISH report also does not cover the state disclosures. A Minnesota seller still owes you the seller's disclosures, including the radon page, and the Minnesota radon disclosure guide covers how to plan a radon test inside the same inspection window.

The TISH report, your offer, a seller credit, the appraisal and your loan

Since you can read the TISH report before you offer, it can shape the offer itself. A B on a furnace or an H on a set of stairs is a reason to get a contractor's quote early, so the price you write already reflects it. You and your agent then have the usual three choices. You can ask the seller to repair the item before closing, ask for a credit at closing, or accept the item and budget for it yourself. How a seller credit works at closing explains what a credit can and cannot pay for on most loans.

The loan program matters here. On an FHA loan, the FHA handbook's asset requirements (4000.1, section II.A.4.d) list repair allowances among the inducements to purchase. An inducement reduces the purchase price dollar for dollar when the lender computes the value, before the loan-to-value percentage is applied. So on FHA, a cash repair allowance from the seller changes the math on your loan amount, and I'd want to know about it before you write it into the agreement.

The appraisal is a separate step. The appraiser works for the lender and forms an opinion of value. On an FHA loan, the appraiser also checks the home against HUD's Minimum Property Requirements. The FHA handbook's property acceptability section (4000.1, section II.A.3.a) describes those as general requirements that all homes FHA insures be safe, sound and secure. When the appraiser sees something that does not comply, the appraiser notes the repairs needed and the estimated cost of the repair. An item the TISH evaluator rated H can be the same item an FHA appraiser calls out, so it helps to settle it in the contract early. The appraiser and the inspector goes further into who can actually require a repair.

On the cash side, a credit can lower the cash you bring, within the limits of your loan program, and a repair you take on yourself comes out of the money you keep after closing. Pre-approval in Minnesota covers how the state's mortgage registry tax reaches the cash you need at the table.

The steps, in order, for a St. Paul purchase

1. You'll want to look up the TISH report on Saint Paul Online Services, or ask your agent for it, before you schedule a second showing.
2. Please read the date first, then every H, every B, every comment and every NV.
3. If an H or a B looks expensive, you'll want a contractor's quote before you write the offer, so the price reflects it.
4. Please schedule your own home inspection inside your contingency period, and give your inspector the TISH report so they can follow up on the NV items and the flagged ones.
5. You and your agent can then decide whether each item becomes a repair before closing, a credit at closing, or something you take on afterward. Please let me know which way you went, because a credit or a repair allowance can change the cash you need and, on FHA, the loan amount.

Three ways the report gets misread

A report full of M ratings gets treated as a clean bill of health. M means the item met a minimum on the day the evaluator looked, and the report says nothing about what could not be seen.

The TISH report gets used in place of an inspection. The seller's evaluator is meeting a city rule, and your inspector is the one working for you.

An H gets read as a reason to walk away. An H tells you the evaluator saw a possible safety hazard on that item, and a contractor's quote turns the letter into a number you can negotiate with.

An illustration, so the order is clear

Details below are made up to show the mechanism. This is not a real file and not a quote.

A couple is shopping St. Paul with an FHA pre-approval. Before the second showing on a 1925 home, they pull the TISH report online. It has mostly M ratings, a B on the water heater venting, an H on the basement stairs and an NV on the attic.

They get a quick estimate on both items before they write the offer, and their inspector later checks the attic and confirms the two items. They ask the seller to make both repairs before closing rather than give a cash allowance, which keeps the FHA math simple. The appraisal comes back without a repair condition on the stairs, because the work is already done.

Nothing about their loan changes, and the cash they need at closing matches what we estimated before they wrote the offer.

Your next steps

If you are shopping in St. Paul or anywhere in Minnesota, the rate tool is here when you want to see it with your own numbers. You'll see rates priced for your scenario and closing costs built against Minnesota's deed tax and mortgage registry tax, with no credit pull and no account. Choose the rate option that works best for you, and you can change that selection later. The Minnesota page covers the rest of what is different about buying and closing here.

Nothing here is a loan approval, a denial, a commitment to lend, or legal advice. The TISH rules belong to the City of Saint Paul and its Legislative Code Chapter 189, and the city's Department of Safety and Inspections is the source for anything about a specific report.

Common questions

Does every home for sale in St. Paul need a Truth-in-Sale of Housing report?

Single-family homes, duplexes, condominiums and townhomes in the City of Saint Paul need a TISH evaluation completed before the property is marketed for sale. Buildings with three or more units, commercial buildings and mixed-use buildings are exempt. The city also accepts a letter of code compliance from its vacant buildings inspector or a Certificate of Occupancy from its Fire Inspection Division, if either is less than a year old when the purchase agreement is signed.

How do I get a copy of the TISH report on a St. Paul home?

The seller has to keep a valid report conspicuously displayed at the property while it is for sale, and it has to be available for any potential buyer to view within three calendar days of the listing. You can also look a report up through Saint Paul Online Services, which the city names as the place to find one. Your agent can request it from the listing agent as well.

Is a TISH report the same as a home inspection?

No. The TISH report is a disclosure the seller orders from a city-licensed evaluator to meet a city rule, and it rates what was visible on the day of the evaluation. The city says neither it nor the evaluator warrants the condition of the building components, and that a TISH evaluation is not a substitute for an inspection. Your own home inspector works for you during your contingency period.

What do the H, B, C and M ratings on a St. Paul TISH report mean?

M means Meets Minimum, C means See Comments, B means Below Minimum, and H means Hazardous Condition. Items the evaluator could not see are marked NV, for not visible, and items that do not apply are marked NA. A good order for reading the report is the date first, then every H and B, then every comment, then the NV items.