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Waiving home inspections is never a good move when purchasing a home. As a home buyer, this should be included in your criteria list to avoid spending more on repair costs.
Purchasing a new house is as exciting as buying a new car. It can also be an asset and a viable form of investment if you plan to sell it in the future. In terms of purchasing your new home, there are several important factors to look into and make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. One of them is a home inspection. Find out how you can avoid the risks of waiving inspections.
Don’t Rely on the Seller’s Inspection
Prior to advertising the property, the seller will have it inspected and cleared from any issues. This is to carefully assess the condition of the property and provide the buyer with an idea about how much it costs and what can be expected if the purchase pushed through.
The downside of this is that the inspector might miss out any problems with the house since he was only hired by the seller. Once you already own the house and you start seeing the extent of repairs needed, it might already be too late. You have no other resort as no one will be held liable for missing out some of the problems with your house.
Conduct a Pre-Purchase Inspection
Looks oftentimes come first on any buyer’s criteria list when choosing a home. But this should not be the case, experts said. As the adage goes, “looks can be deceiving.” You might be tempted to take the offer since sellers will hook you to take the bait as soon as possible. Though it’s very tempting to accept the offer right away, it’s best to give yourself enough time to conduct a pre-purchase home inspection.
Inspecting the home before you purchase it will prevent you from shelling out any expenses from unforeseen repairs. These repair costs will definitely hurt your budget in the long run, making you spend more money than intended. Eventually, this can result to giving up the home and losing the money you initially invested when expenses skyrocketed higher than expected.
Take the Offer But Include an Inspection Contingency
This can be included in the contract as an agreement between the seller and the buyer. If you’re in a hurry to take the offer, you can include an inspection contingency that’ll take place within a particular period of time. As a buyer, you will be given the option to back out without any legal consequences if the conditions are not met. Or you can negotiate the repairs needed to be based on the assessment of a professional home inspector.
The inspector will provide a report containing the issues that came up and you will have the option, depending on the inspection contingency, whether to approve the report and keep the deal or disapprove it and get your money back. Or you can request for further inspection or repairs. Some contracts can include a cost-of-repair contingency alongside the inspection contingency which states a specific amount for repairs. If the cost of repairs exceeded than the suggested amount, then you can back out from the deal.
A thorough inspection will save you all the hassle and inconvenience of conducting the repairs charged out of your own wallet. You may coordinate with your seller to make arrangements that will be fair for both of you and will also guarantee you are getting most of your money’s worth and even save more. Always keep in mind that what looks good on the outside may not be the same on the inside. The earlier you detect any repairs needed, the earlier you can walk out from the deal or move one along with specific repair arrangements.
Sources: Zillow, The Boston Globe?
Looking for a home for your college kid? Read our previous journal to help you through the process.
