Seller representation in Bethesda

On the 2025 tax bills, 2,293 Bethesda parcels carried a WSSC connection charge. Sellers have to reflect charges like that in a required tax estimate.

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The Service

Seller representation

Seller representation puts one accountable expert between you and every buyer, agent, and inspector in the transaction.

Most home seller requirements in Bethesda come from the county, and the first one shows up in your marketing, not at settlement. County Code 40-12C makes a seller’s own listing material disclose the buyer’s estimated full-year property tax, including the non-tax charges on the consolidated bill. On the levy year 2025 bills, 2,293 Bethesda-addressed parcels carried a WSSC connection fee charge, averaging $536.92. If yours is one of them, the estimate has to reflect it. We pull your actual bill before a single flyer is printed.

Houses carry a second requirement that condos don’t. Under County Code 40-13C, a detached or attached house must be tested for radon less than a year before settlement, while condo and co-op units are exempt. That split matters here. Detached houses are only 32.4% of homes in 20814 but more than three in four in 20816 and 20817. High-rise owners skip the test. A townhouse owner can’t, and a test run too early has to be repeated.

Then there’s the disclosure decision. Maryland’s Real Property 10-702 lets you deliver a disclosure or an as-is disclaimer on or before signing, and a disclaimer still requires you to name latent defects you know about. Deliver it late and the buyer gets 5 days to rescind. In Greenwich Forest, a county historic district of 69 houses, we also confirm that past exterior work had its Historic Area Work Permit, since buyers there tend to ask.

Here’s the order we’d do it in. We draft the 40-12C estimate from your bill, book the radon test on a date that holds through settlement, and finish the 10-702 paperwork with you before the first showing. If your bill carries a special district tax, that goes into the estimate too. For the whole sale, from price to keys, see our page on hiring a Bethesda real estate agent. What the service covers in any city is on Seller representation, and the countywide rules are on our Montgomery County page. Read home selling timeline in Bethesda and when to list a home in Bethesda, which go deeper on the steps around this one. See Seller representation in Potomac for how it works one town over.

Where We Work

Bethesda

Where you own decides which requirements apply. Downtown condo and co-op owners skip the county radon test but need their association’s resale package ready early. Owners of detached and attached houses carry the radon test. Some also carry a WSSC charge or a special district tax that belongs in the estimate. The tax class and charges come straight from the county record for your parcel. We confirm them before we write a word of marketing, so the numbers buyers see match the bill they’ll get. Paperwork comes first here.

Neighborhood Coverage

Bethesda, block by block.

Serving every neighborhood across the city. Ask us about yours.

Neighborhood-level guidance comes standard: pricing, timing, and positioning tuned to the block, not just the ZIP code.

Where else to go

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Answered

Bethesda, answered.

Q: Do I have to give buyers a property tax estimate when selling in Bethesda? A: Yes. County Code 40-12C requires a seller’s own advertising material to disclose the buyer’s estimated full-year property tax, including non-tax charges on the consolidated bill. That can include a WSSC connection fee charge, which 2,293 Bethesda parcels carried in levy year 2025. We build the estimate from your actual bill so the number in your listing holds up. Q: Is a radon test required to sell a condo in Bethesda? A: No. County Code 40-13C covers detached and attached houses and expressly excludes condominium and co-op units. If you’re selling a townhouse or a detached house, the test must be done less than one year before settlement, with results going to both sides. A condo buyer may still ask to test as part of their own inspection. Q: What happens if my Maryland disclosure reaches the buyer after we sign? A: The buyer can walk away. Under Real Property 10-702, a late disclosure or disclaimer gives the buyer the right to rescind within 5 days of receiving it and to get the deposit back. We finish the paperwork before your first showing, so it’s in the buyer’s hands before any offer is written.

Sources

Last reviewed October 2, 2026 by Levi Loveless, licensed in Maryland and Virginia. Every rule, rate and figure on this page links to the source we checked.

Montgomery County Department of Finance, Real Property Taxes 2025 dataset, levy year 2025
Montgomery County Code 40-12C
Montgomery County Code 40-13C, Oct 1, 2016
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year, DP04, ZCTAs 20814, 20816, 20817, 2020-2024
Md. Code, Real Property 10-702
Montgomery Planning, Greenwich Forest Historic District amendment, adopted Sept 21, 2011

Selling or buying

Where to go next.

Whichever side of the move you are on, start here.

For sellers Selling a home Three routes to a sale, and the numbers behind each one. Explore selling For buyers Buying a home Position, competition, and how to win the house. Explore buying

Pull the tax bill before you pick a list date.

Send us your address and your most recent tax bill. We’ll check it for WSSC and special district charges and draft the 40-12C estimate. If you own a house, the radon date comes next. The listing goes live only after the disclosure package is done.