By Mike Bodeen · 18 September 2017
Now More Than Ever, a Good Home Inspection is Crucial
A few months back, the Arizona Association of Realtors in conjunction with a cadre of real estate, legal, and title officials changed language in our purchase contracts deleting what was known as the “Seller Warranty Clause.” Sounds kind of dull and boring, huh? Well, it’s anything but, if you’re in the market to buy or sell a home.
What was the Seller Warranty Clause (SWC)? The SWC had stipulated that the Seller would warrant, maintain, and repair the premises of the home, such as heating, cooling, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, (including pool and spa items), range and oven and all built in appliances, and would be in working condition within three days of the close of escrow.
This was often comforting to a buyer knowing that they would be buying a home where these mechanicals were working.
“Now, the buyer is buying the home subject to their accepting the condition of the property, which makes the Buyer Due Diligence period crucial.”
This is no longer the case. Now, the buyer is buying the home subject to their accepting the condition of the property, which makes the Buyer Due Diligence period crucial. The buyer has 10 Days within which to perform all inspections of the property and neighborhood. If for any (subjective) reason, the buyer rejects their findings, they can withdraw from the transaction without forfeiture of their earnest money deposit.
The buyer still has the option to request repairs of the seller, but now, the seller is not obligated to make any repairs, unless agreed to in writing resulting from the buyer’s Due Diligence findings. If, however the buyer and seller don’t agree to these repairs, the deal dies, and the buyer gets their deposit refunded. The seller is still required to make all disclosures of the property they’re aware of that could cause a buyer to not want to buy the home. Yes, that includes, sightings of scorpions, roof leaks, water issues, non-working appliances including AC and Heating, ad infinitum. The problem however, and you can believe this if you want, not all home sellers are 100% honest and forthright about the condition of their home.
Bottom line? Hire a great home inspector! They are now a buyer’s best insurance for avoiding rude surprises. Next week we’ll discuss what constitutes a “great” home inspector.
– Mike