Help please with a real estate attorney and home inspector (Grapevine: mineral rights, lease)

[akaistha]

Hello All:
After much deliberations we bought a house in Grapevine. Since we are new to the area we rely on recommendations from this forum for services.

Would you guys be so kind to refer to us a real estate attorney and a home inspector? We need to do the closing in first week of September. If you yourself are an attorney or home inspector then please send me a direct message. I will also need some references.

Thanks for your help

Amit

[loves2read]

if you have gone past the 10 day option contract
getting a home inspection will only tell you info that the homeowners are not required to address...
the time to do your inspections are BEFORE you actually buy the house but when you are in the option period after they accept your offer...

does not sound like you used a real estate agent--(which people don't have to do) but they should KNOW what the process is to protect your rights/advantage as a buyer....

and frankly asking at this late a date you may not find a real estate attorney to take you on as a client...

[akaistha]

No we haven't gotten past the contract. We actually heard from our agent that the seller has accepted our bid at this time verbally.

The reason I want the attorney is because of mineral rights. Even though the seller has signed a lease with the gas company, he will sign over the permanent mineral rights to us. That means that any payments if any would come to us. We also thought that might be easier to resell the house if we owned the mineral rights.

Home Inspection is important since we relocated from Chicago and know very little about foundation, pool and electrical issues.

Amit

[loves2read]

your real estate agent probably has inspectors she could recommend but some people might think that would be conflict of interest=--in that inspector would maybe downplay problems to help agent close the sale
just look for one that has some engineering experience to spot foundation problems and/or who is actually certified by the code agencies--like one who is a certified plumber or electrician--has some real trade experience--I think those guys are better at spotting faulty construction but they can't really tell what is between the walls once house is built
you might ask for an energy inspection--meaning someone who checks for air leaks around windows and doors, insulation factors--do a blower door test--check thermostat and HVAC system for performance--not just is it working or not...which is basically what a home inspection checks...just that it turn on, turns off, blows cold air--not the quality of the system (over-sized, under-sized, duct leaks, etc)...

ask for a years worth of electric and gas bills which is something an energy inspection requires I think
FTW paper had article a few weeks ago about companies who are doing that--

[okcdds]

I had my home inspected by Mathew Joseph with RSH Engineering and was very pleased with his work. He came well recommended. His # is 972 203 3003. Good Luck, Deepa