By Adam Andrus
After months of grueling work scouring the internet, the newspaper, magazines, visiting countless open houses, you finally found it: The home of your dreams. As you relish the thought of finally settling down and begin dreaming of how you’re going to decorate, the thought zips through your mind, “I hope the property inspections turn out OK.” The time has come to look into the condition of the home and make certain that the home of your dreams is not harboring hidden nightmares.
There are literally dozens of potential inspections one can order when selling or buying a home and the cost for some of them can be quite high. As a real estate agent, I always recommend that a potential home buyer obtain all available inspections for the property they are considering purchasing. A few examples include pest inspections, roof inspections, septic inspections, soil stability inspections, lot line/survey inspections, etc. Depending on the geography surrounding a particular home, some inspections might be more vital to obtain than others.
Whether one is buying or selling a home, it is imperative to understand what to expect when a home buyer goes about inspecting a property once that property is in escrow. If you are a homeowner, you might want to consider obtaining property inspections before placing your property on the market. Performing these inspections in advance will give you a tactical advantage in two ways. One, you can potentially fix any previously unknown problems to avoid a buyer attempting to negotiate the price down or ask for concessions. And this knowledge enables you to price your property taking into account the work needing to be completed.
Here are some
considerations
Inspection Costs – Many home buyers spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $1000-$2,000 (non-refundable) dollars on inspections. Because each property is unique, one may spend more if the property is on a well, has a septic system, a radiant floor heating system, advanced water filtration system, etc. Due to the sheer volume of potential inspections one could obtain, a good practice is to speak with your real estate agent to determine which ones are most vital. In most situations, you are not required to perform inspections, but it is highly recommended that you do so.
Review Reports – Take time reviewing the results of each inspection and expect to find issues with the home that the current owner may not be aware of. Many times these inspections bring to light hidden aspects of the condition of the home that are new to the seller as well.
Additional Investigation – Understand that some of the inspections you order might call for “additional investigation” of a particular issue. This means that one may need to hire another type of inspector or contractor to further evaluate the problem.
Ongoing Negotiation – If you are a homeowner, keep in mind there is a chance that a buyer will ask for some concessions after their investigations are complete and that usually you are under no obligation to fix or offer anything to offset these newly discovered costs. That being said, if the issues are large enough, one might want to consider offering the buyer some help if they ask. If you are a buyer, plan on evaluating whether or not to re-negotiate the terms of your offer with the homeowner. Depending on what comes to light during your inspections, and the motivation level of a homeowner, one might consider asking the seller to adjust the price of the home, fix the work that needs to be done, or potentially provide a credit for closing costs to offset the expense of fixing any substantial problems.
The negotiations following property inspections are both “art” and “science.” It is important that you hire an experienced real estate agent who can appropriately take the “temperature” of a negotiation scenario. Contact your agent to discuss the inspection process further or feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss my perspectives on the inspection negotiation process.
Adam Andrus,
The Andrus Estates Team
Sereno Group Realty CALBRE#01427618 | 831-566-8075 | adam@andrusestates.com
2017-02-21