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Background: long-time renter trying to buy home.
First deal fell through due to awful inspection results, second in-process now.
1. Seller obtains home inspection and appraisal Before putting house on market.
Obvious deal-breakers can be fixed or listed in ad so VA buyers (like me) don't waste their money, travel and worst- TIME on a property that won't be passed by VA.
2. Pre-approved Buyer makes offer after all details have been given by seller i.e. Seller wishes to remain in property after closing.
3. Any final inspection/appraisals are done and financing completed.
It can be like that, but still doesn't make the sale go through any quicker.
*Seller has an inspection, buyer doesn't want to use sellers inspection
*House is appraised by seller, appraises differently by lender
*Pre-approved Buyer, for some reason is delayed getting actual funds, details disagreed upon just before closing (see the sellers took my cabinets thread).
So many things can happen. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes not so much!
1. Who is paying for the inspection and appraisal: the buyer or the seller? If the seller, what financial incentive is there for the seller to do so: would the buyer compensate the seller for the expense? As for the appraisal, it makes no sense for a seller to do so, as the buyer's lender is going to order their own appraisal, which may not jibe with an independent appraisal ordered by the seller. The seller has nothing to do with the purchaser obtaining financing, and should rightfully stay out of that.
2. This is already all part of the contract negotiation process. Furthermore, the way you're writing it makes it sound like you're asking the seller to disclose any and all conditions they'd be willing to accept before they even engage with a buyer; what purpose does this serve to the seller?
3. Not sure what you mean here; do you mean inspections/appraisals aren't done until financing is completed? That doesn't make any sense whatsoever, as those are material to approving a loan.
Everything you've suggested are weighted so heavily towards the purchaser with no benefit to the seller; that's why it can't be like that.
Everything you've suggested are weighted so heavily towards the purchaser with no benefit to the seller; that's why it can't be like that.
Guess I'm a bit biased
Scenario: Disreputable Seller lets one Buyer after another make offers and pay for inspections (knowing there's a deal-breaking issue with house) until property passes inspection or someone skips it.
Big reason i think Seller should pay for home inspection before Listing.
I don't see how it's fair to tie up Buyer's money and time when a cash offer can steal the sale at last minute.
The best 'defense' the buyer has against this wasted time and expense is to know how to identify a few key potential problems himself, and perhaps to have an agent who can help him to estimate the appraisal value for the home.
Then if there are lots of potential issues, and an apparently overpriced home based on local comparisons, the buyer would at least know what he was getting into.
Scenario: Disreputable Seller lets one Buyer after another make offers and pay for inspections (knowing there's a deal-breaking issue with house) until property passes inspection or someone skips it.
Big reason i think Seller should pay for home inspection before Listing.
I don't see how it's fair to tie up Buyer's money and time when a cash offer can steal the sale at last minute.
Except after that first buyer has undergone inspection, the seller has to disclose those material defects to the next seller; most states have laws on the books regarding full property disclosure. The seller would HAVE to disclose those deal-breaking issues to the next buyer or be in violation of the law; a simple legal action would make the prospective buyer whole from the inspection fee. Seller can't claim to not know about them because they obviously would have been notified by the first buyer regarding fixing those issues. Furthermore, people would catch on quite quickly to the scam, as they would see property pending and then not on the MLS and start poking around as to why property keeps entering and leaving contract.
It's not up to the seller to pay for an inspection; if they don't want to repair the issue, you don't need to buy it. It's your financial calculus that needs to be figured out regarding repairs, not necessarily the seller's. And if someone is willing to offer cash and overlook those issues, then them's the breaks; it stinks but that's the whole point of a free-market capitalist society.
So if you get your way and seller pays for inspections, discloses material defects when your offer is made but doesn't want to make the repairs; this is already basically the same thing as an as-is sale. You don't need to take the deal but the seller's ability to get top dollar is compromised; they now lose the ability to attract buyers who would purchase the property as-is. Those buyers will now offer lower than they would have since they're aware in advance of material defects and reflect their offer accordingly.
Scenario: Disreputable Seller lets one Buyer after another make offers and pay for inspections (knowing there's a deal-breaking issue with house) until property passes inspection or someone skips it.
Big reason i think Seller should pay for home inspection before Listing.
I don't see how it's fair to tie up Buyer's money and time when a cash offer can steal the sale at last minute.
I am not sure many will trust a Sellers inspection. There are so many horror stories and even TV shows about what was found later. Many buyers are gun shy. This is one of the reasons my last two purchases were new. Could inspect and see everything as it went along.
We did an inspection before we put our house on the market. It made it easier to not get surprised with big ticket items. Not nor buyer wanted to use our inspection, they wanted their own.
Usually a buyer will want to get their own inspection, but if one has been done by a reputable inspector and it is a competitive situation, some buyers might accept the seller's report. Especially if everything has been addressed.
Scenario: Disreputable Seller lets one Buyer after another make offers and pay for inspections (knowing there's a deal-breaking issue with house) until property passes inspection or someone skips it.
Big reason i think Seller should pay for home inspection before Listing.
I don't see how it's fair to tie up Buyer's money and time when a cash offer can steal the sale at last minute.
If this scenario is not hypothetical, and the problem(s) revealed in the home inspection are a material defect to the home, disclosure is now in play. At least it would be in Virginia. And that disclosure now applies to the agent as they would have become aware of it when the home inspection addendum and report were presented.
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