There is No Need to Freak Out Over a Less Than Favorable Home Inspection
You’ve found your dream home and have started packing all your belongings and then, the home inspection report reveals some bad inspection results. Time to freak out! It’s a deal breaker, oh no! Actually, many times it’s not a deal breaker, but rather a time to collect as much information as possible to get answers to questions you’d never thought you’d be asking. Often the home and pest (termite, etc) inspections are pass-fail evaluated by many buyers. If the results come back with flying colors or are terribly tragic, its normal to think move on or get out of the home sale contract. But when the problems found with the home are somewhere in between, what path do you take next?
First, if you need more time because your inspection contingency period is coming to an end, ask your Realtor to extend the time period by a few days. You’ll want to get expert opinions on the specific problem that was identified in the report, like a certified roofing contractor for a roof problem, for example. The seller may also get expert opinions and estimates for repairs to get additional contractor opinions. Assess how much work you are willing to do after settlement, considering the costs and the inconvenience. Also ask the home inspector if any of the repairs can be done over time to spread out the expense of the repair. This will allow you to budget if the repair can be done in stages.
The “what your Realtor can do for you” section: Your Realtor will make suggestions on how to go about either getting a credit for the repair that will keep you from parting with more hard earned cash or asking the sellers to do the repair if its within reason, based on the other terms of the agreement. In today’s market, there are many sellers who do not have the equity built up in the home to give a credit at closing. Keep in mind, if you’re getting a loan to purchase the property, your mortgage company or bank will need to approve any kind of credit from the seller. A last ditch effort to resolve the concerns would be a price reduction on the accepted offer price equal to the cost of the major repair.
I’ll stress this again, often these days, the seller just isn’t in a position to budge on repairs because they may have purchased the home during the peak sales years of 2006 and 2007 and haven’t built equity. If this happens to be the case, you will need to think it through before moving ahead. With your research, you may now have some reduced bids for the work or just a better understanding of how the repairs can be done, either all at once or over time. Whether you decide to move forward with this home or start your search for another home, you’ll know that you worked through the bad inspection results in a thorough, rational manner.
~Gina
No Need to Freak Out Over a Less Than Favorable Home Inspection By our team member and guest blogger Gina Wherry originally appeared in the Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch.
Contact Scott Loper, Associate Broker, Realtor®, RE/MAX Realty Group at 215-513-1333 for help buying or selling a home in Lansdale, Harleysville, Hatfield, Souderton, Skippack, Collegeville, North Wales and the surrounding areas of Montgomery County of Pennsylvania. To Search for Homes For Sale in Montgomery County Click Here.
No Need to Freak Out Over a Less Than Favorable Home Inspection - Copyright © 2011, The Scott Loper Team, All rights reserved.
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The Scott Loper Team
Scott Loper - Associate Broker
Lisa Loper - Sales Associate
Gina Wherry - Sales Associate
RE/MAX Realty Group
439 Main Street
Harleysville, PA 19438
Ph: 215-256-1200 x-213
