Protect Your Dream Home

Inspection Questions That Should Be Decided Before You Buy Your Dream Home!

Home Buying contingencies are written clauses in your contract that give you time to evaluate some aspects of the property before you proceed to make a written offer. Think of them as questions that must be answered or events that must (or must not) take place. The most common is an outline of the type of financing you are willing to obtain and a clause that releases you from the purchase if you are unable to obtain the terms specified. Are there other common home buying contingencies? The answer is, Yes.

In certain situations, your lender may require a pest inspection to make sure your dream home is free of termites and other wood destroying insects. If the report mentions damage from an active or previous infestation, you will be asked to hire someone to verify the structural integrity of your dream home. Neither of these inspections can take the place of a home inspection which examines the condition of the home and its components. Most inspections, including a home inspection, are usually optional and are an extra expense. Do you need one? We Recommend It.

What is a Home Inspection? A home inspection involves a home inspector to evaluate the structure of the home, and provide feedback about systems such as the roof, plumbing, electrical system, heating & air conditioning units, insulation, doors, windows and more. Though a home inspection is not required, a seller is also not required to make the repairs. Try to imagine moving in to your new home and finding out that the air conditioning unit isn’t capable of cooling the house, or that portions of the electrical system are substandard, or that the irrigation system needs immediate repairs. Should repairs be necessary? Your contract should include wording about your rights, including the dates by which the inspection will be completed. The contingency should outline the options available to you if the home needs more repairs than you are willing to take on.

Another common contingency is a boundary survey or land survey. Buyers most often make an offer on a property dependent on the results of a boundary survey. A boundary survey is the process of finding, identifying, measuring and reporting the location of the boundary lines of a parcel of land. A boundary survey will also indicate the extent of any easements and reveal any encroachments. You should expect the survey to show the number of acres, that a specific lot line is where the seller says it is, whether someone has the right to cross the property or that neighbors have not encroached (built on it) the property.

There are additional contingencies that include presence of lead, radon, mold, or other toxic substances, sewer and septic, water, appraisals, deeds, and easements. Remember, contingencies are useless if they do not explain what you are trying to achieve.