DictionaryThe buying process

Property report: what it means

A property report is a printed document that the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (ILSA) requires from a developer who sells or leases lots in a subdivision, when the sale is not exempt. It contains the information about the lots and the subdivision that the law and its rules require.

In Spanish it is

Informe de la propiedad (property report)

Also written as: ILSA property report · Interstate Land Sales property report

A man tours his new home with a housing specialist.

Verified on October 17, 2026

2 official sources

See the whole dictionary

The full explanation

The developer must give it to you before you sign the contract. If you did not get it, the law lets you cancel the contract within a set period, and the contract must say so clearly. No one may claim that the government approves or recommends the subdivision.

An example

A developer offers Ernesto a lot in another state. Before signing, Ernesto asks for the property report and compares it with what the ads say about roads, water and electricity.

You will see it in…

The papers a developer gives you before selling a lot
The purchase contract for a lot in a subdivision
Ads for land for sale in other states

Words that go with it

You will rarely see this word alone. These are the ones that show up with it on the same papers.

Still confused by a paper?

A HUD-approved housing counselor can walk you through it. Agencies usually charge little or nothing, many work in Spanish, and they do not sell you anything.

What a housing counselor does See free help

Official sources

We sum up what these official sources say, in plain words. We add no rules they do not state; when a rule changes, the definition and its date change.

1. Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School) · 15 U.S.C. § 1703: requirements respecting sale or lease of lots (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026
2. Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School) · 15 U.S.C. § 1707: property report (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026