One of the biggest reasons to get a private home inspection before you sell your home is because the buyer is more than likely going to have one done. This being the case, any significant areas of concern that the buyer might need to be aware of will more than likely already have been discovered. It's much less expensive to make a repair to your home a head of time because you will be the one who gets to pick the contractor and the level of materials used.
For example, say the heat exchanger on the furnace is cracked. Generally this means replacing the furnace. Many times the buyer will expect to have a say in which contractor, brand of furnace and efficiency level of the furnace that is installed. Furnaces are like cars in a sense because different brands vary and some brands are very serviceable yet not as expensive as others. The cost difference can be substantial.
Also, you won't have the time pressures that come to bear when you have your home under contract. Having a larger window of time to get bids and to interview contractors can possibly end up saving you money.
Sometimes, the buyer will even accept your building inspection and you can by pass on the whole building inspection resolution process. If this happens, then you're not going to be nearly
as stressed as you would have been having a different inspector. Inspectors vary tremendously and the new inspector might find something that the first guy missed. Some items are a matter of subjective opinion as to whether they are defects in the property or not. Masonite Siding would be an example.
If the buyer does insist on having their own inspector, that is allowed by almost all standard contracts. The inspector that they choose might or might not be very good. Sometimes they come up with stuff and make it a problem when it really isn't a problem. I'm not saying that it is going to happen, but it could and you should be prepared for it, if it were to happen.
If this occurs, then you are basically back in negotiations. Contracts usually allow the buyer an out based upon the results of the building inspection. If your home has any significant structural defect, such as a cracked foundation or damage to any structure component of your home, then the buyer can simple declare the contract null and walk away from your transaction. Sometimes this happens, but even with fairly significant items, most things about a house can be fixed and most buyers will accept a repair if it is done by a reputable contractor.
The "defect" doesn't have to be very significant and can even be more of an improvement and the buyer can ask for you to "fix" the defect. If it is not a "defect" but is rather an improvement, this would fall outside of the boundaries of the building inspection clause of the contract and you would not be required to fix it. You could still hold the buyer accountable to continue with the purchase. Sometimes it's easier simply to accommodate the buyer. Sometime you might put your foot down. As I mentioned above, you are back in negotiations!
On items that are not structural, but can be considered defects, it is a matter of negotiations on what you will fix and what you won't. Both parties at this point usually have vested interests in seeing the transaction through, so it's usually a bit of a give and take sort of thing.
Once you've reached consensus on the repairs, sometimes the buyer has the building inspector come back out to access the repairs. This isn't unusual and is fully within the buyer's rights. Most times however, a receipt from the contractor stating exactly what they did will suffice for the buyer.
If you have any questions about building inspections, please do not hesitate to call ValueList.
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