The Home Buying Process, P7
We are glad you’ve made it this far. You are the few, the elite. Get ready for the inspection period!
Yep, this series may seem a little long in the age of Twitter. But reading this will save you so much time and heartache.
Plus, after years in the business, we know that some of our clients prefer to read things like this, then have us walk through a slide show. We are here for you, fellow introverts!
In this installment, we will cover the all-important inspection period.
If you want to see the previous installment in this series, see Part 6 at this link.
Part 7: The Inspection and Appraisal
The most important thing to know about the inspection is that you can back out for any reason, as long as you do it in the 10 days. If you are uncomfortable with the inspection, or the seller refuses to fix what you ask, do what you gotta do!
If you talk to the neighbors and they tell you something that alarms you, you can pull out.
This part is not just about pipes and plumbing. But, if you find something after the 10-day period, or after you send your inspection report to the seller, then you are out of luck.
So, do a full inspection. This included a termite inspection.
As the old joke goes, “there are two types of homes in Arizona. Those that have had termites and those that will.” Don’t be afraid if you find evidence of termites. Be concerned if the seller has not remedied the situtation.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the inspection is just a general inspection. The job of the inspector is to look over things and tell you what he or she sees that could be wrong. If the inspector writes a note about the A/C not blowing enough cold air, for instance, you may want to have a specialist in right away to have a look.
Once you’ve had the inspection, the inspector will show you through the report at the property, and will point out all of the things that he or she finds.
Note: You will find things wrong with every home, especially older homes! Your decision will be just how important those things are to you.
We the consult with you about what you want to ask the seller to fix –all, some or none. We put that in a Buyer Inspection Notice and Seller Response form, or a “BINSR”, and we will present it to the seller.
If the seller refuses to fix some or all of the things, you have a right to back out of the contract and get your earnest money back. (More on that later.)
The appraisal is the second big thing that we are working on at this point in the process. It may not happen during the inspection period, but it can.
The appraisal is just you lender deciding what they think the house is worth. They won’t lend you more money than that.
The appraiser will come by the house to have a look and give an estimate of value.
Like the inspection, if the appraisal does not come in at asking price, you have a right to exit the contract and get your earnest money back.
More on that in the next installment about The Three Contingencies.
