Order an Inspection!
Now that you have an accepted Purchase Agreement, one of the most important things you need to do is order an inspection of your new house. The purpose of the inspection is to reveal any Mechanical, Structural, Health or Safety conditions in the home that were not visible during our showings.
The inspector is a state-licensed professional who has been trained on the structural and mechanical components of the houses in our area. He will go through the house from roof to foundation and from attic to basement following an extensive checklist of items recommended by the American Society of Home Inspectors. He will rate the condition of every item on the list and add comments and photos for items of concern. When he is through the checklist, he will produce a multiple page report that may be up to 80 pages long. Do not let the length of the report concern you. They are always long!
Once you and I receive the report, we want to identify the Mechanical, Structural, Health or Safety defects that could impede your quality of life in the home. These items are items that we will consider asking the Seller to correct before closing. The less important items remaining on the list are things you can plan to repair or replace later on during your home ownership, but don’t warrant immediate concern.
Depending on the age of your house, it is not unusual for the inspector to discover electrical issues, plumbing issues, HVAC issues, mold or radon, or damage from insects. Even new houses have long inspection reports. But the good news is, nearly every issue can be resolved quickly.
Who & When?
Now we just need to figure out who is going to fix these Mechanical, Structural, Health or Safety issues and when they are going to be fixed. That’s the purpose of the Buyers Inspection Response. After you and I agree on our priority items, I will write up an Inspection Response to send back to the Seller.
The Seller has the right to deny every one of our requests, but most likely they will produce a counter offer and we will come to a mutually beneficial agreement. Depending on the timeline of you and the Seller, we can expect to get the agreed upon items corrected before closing. If the timeline is tight, it is not uncommon for the Seller to give the buyer a discount on the purchase price or a pre-paid check to a vendor at closing for you to correct the items after you take possession.
Ahhh….
And when you have an accepted Inspection Response, you can breathe a sigh of relief, because this house is all but yours. Assuming there are no goofy things that come up during title search, you have cleared your last major hurdle of buying a house.
Going through the inspection and the inspection response negotiation can be an emotional roller coaster, but it’s just part of the process. Know that I am here to guide you and answer your questions. If you need a qualified inspector, please find a list under the Useful Websites and Links tab.
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