Home Inspections

Please note that I describe the process as though you are selling the house on your own. If you choose to accept the help of a real estate professional like me, I will take care of most of these things and guide you through the things that you need to do.

Home Inspection

The offer usually stipulates that the home inspection takes place within 10 days of accepting the offer. The buyer contracts with a licensed home inspector who will contact you either directly or through the buyer's agent to make an appoint for home inspection. The inspection takes several hours and therefore plan on leaving the premises for upto four hours.

What does an inspector do?

The home inspector examines every aspect of the house: the roof, the attic, the walls, the plumbing system, the electrical system, the sewage system, the furnace and air conditioning system. In short it is the responsibility of the inspector to thoroughly examine the house to locate any problem with the house that is not apparent to a non-expert like the buyer. Home inspectors report on both minor and major problems. If there are major problems, the buyer may decide that the house is not worth the price. There will always be minor problems that the buyer is willing to accept but knowing these problems allows the buyer to fix them after the house has been bought.

What are the other inspections?

There is a mandatory lead test to assure that there is no lead content in the paint or plumbing of the house. There is a highly recommended radon test that examines the house for radon gas. High levels of Radon can be lethal. The buyer might also choose to a pest inspection.

What does the buyer do after the inspections?

The buyer sits down with his/her realtor and studies the problems that were identified by the inspector. If the problems are structural and cannot be fixed, the buyer may decide to back out of the offer and reclaim the earnest money. If there are problems that can be fixed, the buyer is likely to write up another addentum to the offer asking you to fix the problems.

What is your next step?

If the buyer backs out because of major structural problems, you are back to square one looking for a potential buyer. If the buyer gives you an addentum asking you to fix problems, you may decide to decline and let go of the offer. Or you can write a counter addentum offering to fix some problems but not all. Or you can agree pay the buyer a sum of money towards the cost of repairing those problems. If the buyer agrees to it, the repairs will be done by the buyer after closing.