Jim Valentine: What to do with the inspection reports

It is prudent when you buy a home to get an inspection by a professional inspector. There are several types of inspections that are available, but it will depend on the property and its location as to which ones you may choose to have done for you. The two most common are the pest inspection and the physical inspection.

These are fairly universal and are recommended for every home you will purchase. Other options are radon, lead based paint, heating and cooling systems, well quality and quantity, septic, fireplace and oil tank. Of course, you won’t test the well if you are on a water system and for similar reasons you won’t need several of the others if you don’t have those systems in your home. Heating and cooling are usually not done unless the physical inspector finds a problem and recommends it. This is different than their recommendation to have it inspected by a heating/air conditioning specialist which they do on every inspection to deflect some liability.

When you get the pest inspection you will be looking for findings of termites, varmints, etc., but they don’t find them very often. More likely they will find dry rot, moisture, and cellulose debris if they find something in Northern Nevada. We have subterranean termites, but they rarely access the home unless there is earth to wood contact. Moisture can cause mold, dry rot, and other bad things so it is important that they look for you. If you find mold issues you will want to contact the pest inspector to get an idea of what it will take to mitigate the problem. It could be a $50 spray, or it could be thousands. Verify before going forward to close.

Physical inspection reports are great as they are an evaluation of the condition of the home performed by a licensed and bonded disinterested third party. You will learn a lot when you get your inspection. The first thing to look for are any life/safety items that have been called out. These are things that could result in a fire or other dangerous situation due to a condition within the home that is identified. These should be remedied before you occupy the home. If serious enough they could be a showstopper if you can’t renegotiate.

The inspectors won’t call out cosmetic items, that is something the prospective buyer should identify during their inspection of the home. They will find non-functioning outlets, leaks, and items that aren’t to code. You need to be careful here as they will suggest you bring it up to code, but it isn’t necessarily a condition of the transaction that things be brought to code unless it is something like no smoke detectors, again a life/safety item. A home built in 1918 won’t be brought up to code. The term used is “code at construction.” Be aware of the difference between what is serious and what is recommended. Recommended isn’t really anything you can use with force during the repair negotiations.  

Remember that the new MLS offer forms don’t have a dollar amount for repairs. You will be negotiating the repairs after the inspections are completed and there is no guarantee that you will have a meeting of the minds. Work with your agent to ballpark the cost of repairs called out in the reports you have done. When you’ve established an amount, you can determine if it is worth asking for a concession from the seller, or to proceed with the transaction “as is,” or to rescind if you find the repairs too onerous to take on yourself.

If you determine that unexpected items in your inspections need repair or mitigation, and are negotiating those repairs, remember that you have put the sellers on notice about the deficiency in their property. They now must disclose it to future buyers. It is often easier to work with you, the existing buyer, than to go find a new one that will accept the home in the condition that you have notified them that it is in.

Inspections are now more important than ever with the need to negotiate repairs after the contract has been agreed to by all parties. You might want to put a clause in the contract for cost of repairs to minimize your exposure.

When it comes to choosing professionals to assist you with your Real Estate needs… Experience is Priceless! Jim Valentine, RE/MAX Realty Affiliates, 775-781-3704. dpwtigers@hotmail.com