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an Offer - Concerns About the Property
Disclosures
Although
you have toured the property, looked
at the walls and ceiling, turned on
the faucets and played with the light
switches, you have not lived in it.
The seller has years of knowledge about
his or her home and there may be some
things you want to find out about as
quickly as possible. For this reason,
you will require certain disclosures
as part of your offer.
Basically,
you want the seller to disclose any
adverse conditions that may have a substantial
impact on your decision to purchase
the home. This would include any problems
with the house, whether the property
is in a flood zone, a noise zone, or
any other kind of hazardous area.
If
you have an agent representing you,
this is almost automatic, but many states
do not require individuals selling their
own home to provide you with this information.
Often they do not require banks selling
foreclosed property to provide these
disclosures, either. Obtaining these
types of disclosures should always be
a part of your offer, and time is of
the essence.
Condition
of the Property
The
last thing you want when you assume
possession of your new home is to find
it in a total mess. Therefore, you should
make it clear in your offer that certain
minimum standards are required. If you
do not, you might find out the seller
or neighbors have begun using the back
yard as a trash dump, or something worse
- and you would not be able to do anything
about it.
Some
of the requirements you might want to
include in your offer are that the roof
does not leak, the appliances work,
the plumbing does not leak, that there
are no broken or cracked windows, the
yard has been kept up, and any debris
has been cleared away.
Home
Inspections
Besides
appraisal and the termite inspection,
you should also have a professional
go through the house and seek out potential
problems. Of course, you will have inspected
the home, but you are not used to looking
at some things that a professional will
find. Even if they are not things the
seller is expected to repair, at least
you will have foreknowledge of any potential
problems.
The
seller will want this inspection performed
quickly, so that you can approve the
results and move forward with the purchase.
Once you receive the inspection, you
will want to allow yourself sufficient
time to review and approve the report.
If you do not approve the report, you
may negotiate with the sellers on which
repairs should be performed and who
should pay for those repairs. Otherwise,
you can cancel the purchase without
penalty, provided you have included
timetables in your offer.
Allow
a maximum of ten to fifteen days to
receive the report and five days to
review it.
Final
Walk-Through Inspection
Before
closing, you will want to revisit the
property to ensure it is in the condition
you have required in your offer, and
to inspect that any required repairs
have been performed. You should do this
no sooner than five days before you
intend to close. Make sure this right
to do a final inspection is included
in your offer to purchase the home.
copyright
2006 by Terry Light and RealEstate ABC
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