|
By Dian Hymer
After months of house hunting and a few failed offers, it's exhilarating to find out that a home seller has finally accepted your offer. This initial enthusiasm can wane, however, when you read the home inspector's report on the property.
It's no wonder buyers get disappointed, sometimes alarmed, when they scrutinize a home inspection report. The vernacular is anything but reassuring. An old appliance or utility is often referred to as "near the end of its useful life." On the other hand, a brand new furnace or roof may be simply called "serviceable."
There are several things to keep in mind when you read a home inspection report. Home inspectors are hired to find out what's wrong, not what's right. Although it would be nice to know what your inspector thinks of your new home in terms of the quality of the construction, inspectors usually won't make such statements for fear of the liability if they're wrong.
Inspectors err on the side of caution. For instance, a crack in the pavement, that the inspector told you orally was nothing to worry about, might show up in the report with a recommendation for a further inspection by an engineer.
Sometimes inspectors make mistakes. Recently, an inspection report indicated that the roof was original. This was disconcerting to the buyer because the house in question was 85 years old. In fact, the sellers had replaced the roof about 14 years ago.
A termite inspector who inspected the same house said that there were dry wood termites and that the house needed to be tented and fumigated. This alarmed the buyers who had small children, and were concerned about the chemicals used in fumigation. After the transaction fell apart, a more experienced termite inspector looked at the area of concern and determined that the dry wood termites were actually damp wood termites, which don't require fumigation.
HOUSE HUNTING TIP: Your purchase contract should contain guidelines regarding what to do about inspection-related issues. Some contracts permit the buyer to disapprove the inspections and cancel the contract. Others require the buyers to give the seller the opportunity to repair defects before canceling. If the contract includes a seller warranty clause, the seller may be required to fix certain defects. However, if you are purchasing the contract in its "as is" condition, you may need to have further negotiations with the seller if your aim is to have the seller correct defects.
Unless you discover an irreparable defect that you feel you can't live with, it's usually best to try to work out a mutually acceptable solution to defects discovered during inspections. Otherwise, you'll be out looking for another home to buy. You can improve your chances of a successful resolution to inspection issues by approaching the process systematically.
First, make sure the sellers have copies of all of your reports. If the sellers indicate that there are errors in a report, or if there are conflicting reports, contact the inspectors involved. The dry-wood termite issue mentioned above became a non-issue when an experienced inspector was consulted.
Don't sweat the small stuff. All houses have defects. Focus on the issues that are of major concern and try to negotiate a fix for these.
Sellers often feel that buyers are not negotiating in good faith when they ask the seller to fix a defect that they were aware of before they made their offer. An unreasonable demand can harden the sellers against the buyers, and can even end in a failed transaction.
THE CLOSING: A successful negotiation usually involves mutual respect, and often depends on give and take on both sides.
|
