Home Inspection

Now that we are under contract, one of the first contingencies we’ll be navigating is the buyer’s inspection of your home. The following is a summary outline of what to expect as the process unfolds:

INSPECTION DAY

Inspections typically take 2-3 hours, depending on the home. Typically the buyer(s), buyer’s agent and inspector will all be present for the entire inspection. We strongly recommend that you plan to be gone during this time to help avoid any awkwardness. We want the buyers to have the freedom to discuss the findings with their inspector and don’t want to put you in a position to have to field questions that either you may not have the answer to or may respond in a way that could cause issues down the road or limit our ability to negotiate a resolution to any requests the buyer may make.

INSPECTION CONTINGENCY TIMELINE

In order to meet the requirements and timelines of the purchase contract, the buyer will need to complete the following prior to the deadline for the Inspection Contingency.

Complete the physical inspection of the property
Obtain the written report (usually the day following the inspection)
Review the report
Respond in writing to us, either accepting the results of the inspection or requesting specific repairs for items they deem important.

RESPONDING TO ANY REQUESTS MADE BY THE BUYER

Once we receive formal written notice from the buyers, we’ll now be in a position to respond in one of 3 ways

The buyer may be satisfied with the findings of their inspection and decide not to make any requests for repairs. If this is the case, the inspection contingency will then be considered “satisfied.

If the buyer identified items from the inspection that they want addressed, they can either ask you to fix those items or propose a cash credit or reduction in purchase price in lieu of making the repairs. If you agree to their requests, the inspection will be deemed “satisfied” and you will be required to have those items corrected prior to closing.

If you don’t agree to the requests, the buyer is not obligated to proceed any further and can rescind the contract. The buyer may still choose to proceed with the purchase even if their inspection requests aren’t agreed upon by you…it’s just important to understand that they are not required to and reserve the right to rescind the contract without penalty.

It’s not uncommon for buyer and seller to arrive at a resolution that may differ from the original requests for repairs. The main goal here is for us to negotiate a solution that satisfies both parties so we can move past the inspection contingency and proceed to closing!

NEGOTIATIONS

It’s quite common for some negotiations to take place during the inspection process relating to a buyer’s requests and the seller’s responses to them. The main goal here is for us to negotiate a solution that provides you enough peace of mind or monetary compensation to be comfortable enough to continue on with the purchase.

Regardless of what request you make and how the seller may respond to them, you are only obligated to follow through with the purchase if the seller agrees to your requests. With that said, it’s quite common for buyer and seller to arrive at a resolution that may differ from the original request but ultimately satisfies both parties. Once we’ve reached mutual agreement on a remedy, the inspection contingency will be considered satisfied and behind us!

RE-INSPECTION BEFORE CLOSING

If, through our inspection negotiations, you’ve agreed to make any repairs, the buyers are entitled to have the inspector re-inspect and confirm those repairs were done correctly. In some cases where the remedy is an easily defined fix like a hot water heater or furnace replacement, a simple invoice will usually suffice without the need to have the work re-inspected. In either case, it’s still important to make sure that any repairs are completed on a timeline that allows for receipts/proof of work to be provided or re-inspections to happen in advance of our scheduled closing date.