What Not (NOT!) to Put in an Inspection Addendum It’s never smart for home buyers to overreach on Inspection issues, but a strong (and strengthening) Seller’s market is an especially bad time to do so. Why? Because any daylight between what the Buyer requests and what the Seller is willing to do gives the Seller an “out”...Read More
Other “Votes”: the Lender, Local Municipality, and Insurer Unbeknownst to the Seller, the Buyer’s inspection uncovered a material problem with their home that the parties agree should be fixed. When that happens, who takes care of it? The short answer: “whomever the parties agree” (at least if no one else has a say — see...Read More
Not Necessarily “Open & Shut” One of the issues that can come up during the Buyer’s inspection is a loose thread — or several — concerning previous work done on the home. Exhibit A: an open permit pertaining to a past remodeling project or home addition. For the Buyer, the approach is easy: stipulate that...Read More
The Wisdom of Leaving a Little Goodwill in the Deal At the risk of becoming a broken record on the subject, let me suggest to dubious home Buyers that foregoing that last $100 (or even $500) inspection item is truly a smart, even self-interested decision (the threshold depends on the home’s price). Why’s that? Because...Read More
Buyers Who Misunderstand the Scope, Purpose of the Home Inspection Here’s some advice to Buyers tempted to impose requirements like the one above following their home inspection. “Don’t.” There are two reasons for that: 1) it could easily cost the Buyer the home, especially if the Seller has other, serious interest (or even a backup...Read More
Bluffing — or Not — About a Backup Buyer True or false: if a home Seller receives and accepts a more attractive backup offer from another Buyer (“Buyer #2”), they’ll tell Buyer #1 about it. Answer: false (usually). 2+ Birds in Hand In my experience, when the Seller has a more attractive backup offer already in hand,...Read More
