Cost-Benefit Criterion It’s not just medicine where there are now more — and more expensive — diagnostic tests. Home inspections increasingly include multiple, specialized tests as well. Besides the standard, whole home inspection for around $400, these three tests seem to be popping up more regularly in today’s housing market: One. Radon. An odorless gas...Read More
Is That Bowed Foundation Wall Historical or Active? “This side appears to be brown.” –What a CPA will answer if you point to a horse in a pasture and ask what color it is. “The house’s foundation does not appear to be at imminent risk of failing . . . today.” –Structural engineer’s analysis of a...Read More
Multiple Offer Photo Finish If you’re a home seller trying to decide among four virtually identical offers for your home (Yay!!), which one do you choose? At least for one recent Twin Cities seller, the tiebreaker was the Inspection Contingency. Specifically, one of the four offers included a $500 cap on any inspection requests. Painless...Read More
Homes That Don’t Measure Up (Literally) Hush, little baby, don’t say a word. Papa’s gonna buy you a mockingbird And if that mockingbird won’t sing, Papa’s gonna buy you a diamond ring And if that diamond ring turns brass, Papa’s gonna buy you a looking glass And if that looking glass gets broke, Papa’s gonna...Read More
Dangerous Default Language (at least for Buyers) Up until last August, Minnesota home buyers who discovered inspection issues that required negotiation with their Seller were safe. If they proposed an Amendment reducing the sales price say, $1,500 as a result, and the Seller said “no,” the deal automatically cancelled at the end of the agreed-upon inspection period....Read More
“Buyer Hereby Removes Its Inspection Contingency” Whether or not you insist on a clause like the one above in any post-Inspection Amendment depends. Specifically, on whether you’re a Buyer or a Seller. Quid Pro Quo To preclude the Buyer coming back with more issues while the Inspection period is still open, Sellers should insist that...Read More
