The Inspection Process in Residential Real Estate
When entering into a purchase agreement on a residential property you should understand your rights with respect to ascertaining the condition of subject property and requesting repairs of any discovered deficiencies. You should have a clear cut understanding of what you are permitted to inspect for (there should not be any exclusions) and what length of time you have to complete any and all inspections. Generally speaking the requested repair of any deficiencies should be placed in writing and transmitted to the owner outlining exactly what you expect the owner to do. The owner will then have a prescribed amount of time in order to respond to your requests. If the owner refuses your request for repairs then you should have the right to declare the agreement null and void and to receive the refund of your deposit. Theses conditions will normally be outlined in what is termed a Property Inspection clause. This clause may give you the absolute right to declare the agreement null and void if for any reason you are dissatisfied with the results of the inspections. Oftentimes prospective purchasers will hire a professional property inspector to make an overall assessment of subject property and will receive a written report outlining deficiencies and potential areas of concern. In summary the right to inspect a property should be unrestricted. It will contain a period of time to complete inspections. It should detail what rights the buyer has if any deficiencies are discovered. Also, if the owner refuses to correct requested deficiencies, then the purchaser’s remedies should be clearly
understood. If you are entering into a purchase agreement that does not give you the unrestricted right to inspect for deficiencies, and the right to request repair of any detected deficiencies, seek out such a clause and have it included in the agreement. Otherwise, you are making a dangerous assumption that there are no concealed deficiencies and you are not protected if any are randomly discovered. That is a risk that I, as an expert real estate broker would not assume on my own behalf, nor should you. Know and understand the condition of property which you are purchasing, it may well help you to negotiate repairs or a reduction in the price, or both !
*The preceding article is subjective and represents the professional opinion of the author/ real estate broker, Larry Trunk.
