Belize Real Estate  Links  
Real Estate Information

Buying a Home -- Is a Home Inspection a Good Idea?


To avoid "buying a pig in a poke," buyers have long demanded the closing on a home purchase be contingent upon a satisfactory inspection by a home inspection firm. In many parts of our country, we're now experiencing a strong sellers' real estate market and sellers often receive more than one purchase offer on the same day for their home. In this environment, buyers are rethinking the home inspection requirement. Is this a good idea?

To Inspect or Not To Inspect

Clearly, if a seller got two offers and one requires a home inspection be done, most sellers will choose the non-inspection offer with all other things being equal. So, a home inspection requirement can put you at a competitive disadvantage. Still, are you willing to risk purchasing a home that has some fundamental, expensive problems? What if you purchase the home and subsequently learn plumbing under the floors must replaced? What if the repair costs $10,0000?

One option may be to include a provision in your purchase offer that provides for a home inspection done for informational purposes only. That way, settlement under your offer is not conditioned upon the inspection. It would not provide you with the option of amending the contract to have the seller make repairs, nor would it provide a way for you to void the contract should serious problems be uncovered. Should serious problems be discovered, however, the seller is bound to know the deal will be in jeopardy. For that reason, even an "informational" home inspection won't look as good to her as a contract with no requirement for a home inspection.

Another option you might consider in lieu of a home inspection is a sub rosa inspection. Instead of using James Bond for spying, you could ask a friend working in the construction or engineering field to walk through the house with you. The goal, of course, is to look for any glaring "red flags" that are deal killers.

If your friend doesn't see anything disturbing, you can then write a clean contract offer without contingencies. Sellers love no contingency sales. The chances are good that you'll get the home you want, but still have a some assurance there isn't anything seriously wrong with the property.

There is no one right answer when it comes to deciding on home inspections. Each buyer has to ask himself how much risk he is willing to take. If you are the only party making an offer, demand an inspection. If you are one of many potential buyers, well, you are going to have determine your comfort level. Others can provide information, but the decision is yours.

Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing homes for sale by owner, "FSBO", properties. Are you thinking, "Should I sell my home?" Visit http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your home sale for free for one month.


MORE RESOURCES:

Investors Real Estate Trust Reports Third Quarter 2010 Financial and Operating ...
MarketWatch (press release)
Investors Real Estate Trust is a self-advised equity real estate investment trust. Its business consists of owning and operating income-producing ...
Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust Q4 2009 Earnings Call TranscriptSeeking Alpha (blog)
Pennsylvania REIT shares surge on credit pactBusinessWeek
Pennsylvania Real Estate Q4 Adj. FFO Declines - UpdateRTT News
Wall Street Journal -HULIQ
all 44 news articles »


TopNews New Zealand

FBI warns public about online rental and real estate scams
Examiner.com
Real estate scams occur when a scammer obtains information from legitimate real estate broker sites and reposts it as a classified ad. ...
The FBI New York Shines Light on Potential Rental and Real Estate Scams in Our ...New York RealEstateRama
Common Rental and Real Estate ScamsFederal Bureau of Investigation (press release)

all 301 news articles »


California pension funds get burned again on real estate
MiamiHerald.com
California's two big public pension funds took fresh hits to their troubled real estate portfolios this week, suggesting the fallout from the ...

and more »


RiverSource Lasalle International Real Estate Fund, Inc. Declares First ...
MarketWatch (press release)
Investments in real estate securities may be subject to specific risks, such as the risks associated with general and local economic conditions, ...

and more »


Trend News Agency

Azerbaijan leader linked to Dubai real-estate deals
Seattle Times
$75 million in real estate here is linked to members of the family of Azerbaijan's president. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Even by the standards of a city ...
Pricey Real Estate Eleven-year-old Spends $44 million on Dubai Homes, Deals ...The Armenian Mirror-Spectator

all 69 news articles »


Monterey Real Estate Firm To Pay Back $315K
CBS 5
Esparza, who was not licensed by the state's Department of Real Estate, managed the Salinas office and was paid using commission proceeds, according to the ...

and more »


Bold real estate bets gave regulators anxiety
Financial Times
At the same time, it increased its risky real estate bridge equity investments - short-term property financing that Lehman provided and hoped to quickly ...

and more »


Tower, French market win big at real estate show
Chicago Sun-Times
... independent food sellers received top honors Thursday night at the annual Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards, considered the Oscars of the industry. ...
Annual Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards Dinner winnersREjournals.com
22nd Annual Chicago Commercial Real Estate Awards Dinner Recognizes ...PR Newswire (press release)
Chicago French Market gets redevelopment honorsChicago Tribune (blog)

all 8 news articles »


Real estate firm relocates, expands
Naples Daily News
Holland is a Florida licensed real estate broker, active in real estate since 1999. He earned an MBA in accounting from Auburn University and was previously ...

and more »


A must-go event for Seattle real estate agent, brokers and Realtors: Real ...
Seattle Post Intelligencer (blog)
Real Estate Bar Camp is a casual, open, and fun way to learn about cutting edge real estate marketing ideas, and the best thing about it is that it's free! ...

and more »

Google News

home | site map | Colorado Log Homes | Homes for Sale in Denver Metro
© 2006