Pre-inspection for buyer... necessary? (Newton, Needham: sale, mortgage, houses)

[pineapple1234]

My wife and I are looking to buy a 3 BR 2 BA home in Newton/Needham for ~$1M. We've been speaking with potential realtors, and some have mentioned doing "pre-inspections" prior to the offer in lieu of an inspection contingency. It sounds like these pre-inspections are about 1 hour, and cover most of the major parts of the home.

My questions are:
1) How do pre-inspections compare to full inspections? How likely is it that there would be major issues missed in a pre-inspection?
2) Is it necessary in Newton/Needham to have a pre-inspection in order to stay competitive? We are cash buyers, so I'm not sure if the pre-inspection is needed to stand out. But I understand that it's a seller's market (low inventory, high demand).
3) Does the inspector have the same liability that they would for a full inspection? i.e. if they miss something major in the pre-inspection, could they be held accountable?

Any insight is appreciated!

[johngolf]

Originally Posted by pineapple1234

My wife and I are looking to buy a 3 BR 2 BA home in Newton/Needham for ~$1M. We've been speaking with potential realtors, and some have mentioned doing "pre-inspections" prior to the offer in lieu of an inspection contingency. It sounds like these pre-inspections are about 1 hour, and cover most of the major parts of the home.

My questions are:
1) How do pre-inspections compare to full inspections? How likely is it that there would be major issues missed in a pre-inspection?
2) Is it necessary in Newton/Needham to have a pre-inspection in order to stay competitive? We are cash buyers, so I'm not sure if the pre-inspection is needed to stand out. But I understand that it's a seller's market (low inventory, high demand).
3) Does the inspector have the same liability that they would for a full inspection? i.e. if they miss something major in the pre-inspection, could they be held accountable?

Any insight is appreciated!

In a fast moving area people will pass your pre-inspection request down as it just adds time to the sale. Write an offer based on the home inspection meeting your satisfaction and be done with it.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by johngolf

In a fast moving area people will pass your pre-inspection request down as it just adds time to the sale. Write an offer based on the home inspection meeting your satisfaction and be done with it.

This. Even mortgage contingencies are problematic in some eastern MA markets

[porterhouse]

In hot markets (seems like everywhere right now) it’s waive inspection or pre-inspection if you want to be competitive in a multiple bid situation. Personally, I’d never waive inspection so a pre-inspection would be the next best thing.

We just sold a property (multiple bids immediately upon listing). 2 offers completely waived inspection, 2 did pre inspections, and 2 had a traditional inspection contingencies. There were other factors at play, but we didn’t even consider the offers with inspection contingencies. The winning bid ended up being one of those who did a pre-inspection. However, this is because it was also the best offer financially and was the quickest to close. As a seller, I didn’t feel the pre-inspection made anyone stand out. I was indifferent between the offers had done a pre-inspection and those who had waived inspection. Same end effect to me.

The pre-inspections didn’t add any time to the sale or time to accept an offer. Buyers who wanted to a pre-inspection must have had their inspectors on retainer and ready to go, as they requested and completed the pre-inspection and presented their offer within days of the property being listed. It was listed on a Thursday with a Monday noon deadline for offers.

[gf2020]

Home inspectors do not have liability regardless of the circumstances.

[jpinard]

Unfortunately, the current market in Massachusetts is so seller-oriented that any type of inspections or inspection contingencies makes you less competitive. One way around this would be to bring a knowledgeable contractor or inspector with you when visiting the property. Take a ton of pictures and/or video and narrate what you see so that you can use it afterwards to remind yourself what you were looking at.

Also, you may want to consider properties that have more extensive seller disclosures. By law in Massachusetts sellers are required to disclose any and all known issues the property has. This can give you a heads up before you commit time and effort to a specific property. And -if anything looks visibly wrong you can always ask questions while viewing the property. Again licensed agents have a legal obligation to disclose everything they know.

I hope this helps a bit!

[pineapple1234]

[quote=jpinard;60187536]Unfortunately, the current market in Massachusetts is so seller-oriented that any type of inspections or inspection contingencies makes you less competitive. One way around this would be to bring a knowledgeable contractor or inspector with you when visiting the property. Take a ton of pictures and/or video and narrate what you see so that you can use it afterwards to remind yourself what you were looking at.

Also, you may want to consider properties that have more extensive seller disclosures. By law in Massachusetts sellers are required to disclose any and all known issues the property has. This can give you a heads up before you commit time and effort to a specific property. And -if anything looks visibly wrong you can always ask questions while viewing the property. Again licensed agents have a legal obligation to disclose everything they know.

I hope this helps a bit!




I was under the impression that MA disclosure laws were quite favorable for sellers, and they only have to disclose lead paint and the presence of a septic system (link).

Am I missing something?

[mdovell]

Huh? If the inspector sees actually electrical building and fire code violations that adds up. Let's not forget insects, outdoor issues with flooding, asbestos etc

There's quite a bit to consider

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by mdovell

Huh? If the inspector sees actually electrical building and fire code violations that adds up. Let's not forget insects, outdoor issues with flooding, asbestos etc

There's quite a bit to consider

Agreed, but depending on the market you might have buyers showing up to open houses with a GC of their choosing. This isn’t hyperbole ... contingencies are being tossed in this super tight inventory market.

Good luck getting a homeowner to correct code violations in this market. They’ll sell the home to the next person in line who’s willing to fix the issues with their own capital.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by pineapple1234

My wife and I are looking to buy a 3 BR 2 BA home in Newton/Needham for ~$1M. We've been speaking with potential realtors, and some have mentioned doing "pre-inspections" prior to the offer in lieu of an inspection contingency. It sounds like these pre-inspections are about 1 hour, and cover most of the major parts of the home.

My questions are:
1) How do pre-inspections compare to full inspections? How likely is it that there would be major issues missed in a pre-inspection?
2) Is it necessary in Newton/Needham to have a pre-inspection in order to stay competitive? We are cash buyers, so I'm not sure if the pre-inspection is needed to stand out. But I understand that it's a seller's market (low inventory, high demand).
3) Does the inspector have the same liability that they would for a full inspection? i.e. if they miss something major in the pre-inspection, could they be held accountable?

Any insight is appreciated!

As an agent in the Newton/Needham area I can say the price point you are referencing is like Lord of the Flies. Like a lot of cash buyers you think that sets you apart. However, the truth is that in this area there are many cash buyers at that price point. Most of the offers that get houses in competitive situations these days are completely clean offers (i.e. no contingencies at all). So, you've taken care of 1 of the 2 most common by paying cash. You can take care of the other with some level of comfort with a pre-inspection. Often it helps to put some imaginative incentives in the contract as well. Hopefully, the agents you're interviewing have some ideas along those lines. Hopefully, these agents also are well connected in the area and can find you some off market opportunities as that can often reduce the competition. Agents in small "mom & pop" brokerages often have a harder time with this.

Home inspections are already a very surface level look at a house. A pre-inspection is even less invasive. An inspector can and will miss things in a regular inspection and they're just more likely to miss things in a pre-inspection. So, have money set aside to possibly do some immediate repairs once you own the house although that's probably solid advice whether you're doing a pre or a full inspection.

Also, like a lot of buyers you think you have recourse with the inspector. Read the contract you sign with them. It limits their liability typically. At best, you might be able to pursue a case against their license if they're grossly negligent but that's not going to get you any money just will get them fined or perhaps their license suspended/revoked.

[quote=pineapple1234;60187743]

Originally Posted by jpinard

Unfortunately, the current market in Massachusetts is so seller-oriented that any type of inspections or inspection contingencies makes you less competitive. One way around this would be to bring a knowledgeable contractor or inspector with you when visiting the property. Take a ton of pictures and/or video and narrate what you see so that you can use it afterwards to remind yourself what you were looking at.

Also, you may want to consider properties that have more extensive seller disclosures. By law in Massachusetts sellers are required to disclose any and all known issues the property has. This can give you a heads up before you commit time and effort to a specific property. And -if anything looks visibly wrong you can always ask questions while viewing the property. Again licensed agents have a legal obligation to disclose everything they know.

I hope this helps a bit!




I was under the impression that MA disclosure laws were quite favorable for sellers, and they only have to disclose lead paint and the presence of a septic system (link).

Am I missing something?

First, very few properties in Newton/Needham have written disclosure documents. Agents in these towns just have traditionally not used them and they are not required. So, if you limit yourself to properties with extensive written disclosures then you're going to be considering very few properties.

Second, in MA sellers are required to disclose any material defects in the house that they are aware of. The disclosure is not required to be in writing. The only required written disclosures in MA are:

1. The presence of a private sewerage system
2. Any knowledge of lead paint in a home built in 1978 or prior

Unfortunately, there are a lot of less than honest sellers out there who don't fully disclose defects. Agents are often blamed for this dishonesty and that's why the profession has such a negative reputation but 9 times out of 10 it was the seller who failed to be honest. If the agent isn't told about the disclosure by the seller then they cannot disclose it.

To pursue a case against a seller who did not fully disclose you would have to prove that they were aware of the defect which is difficult to do and so I would not put my eggs in this basket.

If the agents you're interviewing didn't explain these things up front then it sounds like you need to interview some different agents.