can Buyer get home inspection money back?

[olecapt]

The disclosure thing is very variable state to state. Nevada is normally a reasonably tight disclosure state but, at the moment, we are in the middle of the foreclosure bloom. Everyone has forgotten what a disclosure form looks like. Part of it is not even legal. A short sale still requires a disclosure and CC&Rs but the lenders refuse to allow them to be provided. So we close anyway knowing the seller is in violation of the statutes.

I believe no disclosure is standard in many places like NY and CT.

All our contracts have a clause stating that each side eats its own costs when a contract is cancelled.

[bigskyllama]

Home inspection revealed 4 bedroom home is actually to code 2 bedroom home. Septic tank is 1000 gallon and should be 1500 gallon. If I discovered termites that would be different. I found the apple is actually an orange. Isn't the seller's listing false advertising. If they won't refund my home inspection, could I take them to small claims court.

[AK-Cathy]

Water intrusion problems can normally be fixed but often it can be a bigger pain and expense than a house may be worth unless it's dirt cheap. The buyers of a flooding house will need to have the skills and willingness or ready cash to fix those problems which can become expensive and highly disruptive in a hurry or as simple as putting guttering on a house. More often it's the end result of a combination of several factors, none cheap to repair.

Home inspections are protection for the buyer. Your buyer's inspector did what he was hired to do and without destructive inspection (removing wall panels) there will be no telling how much there is to repair in regards to the termite intrusion. The buyers were right to walk if they weren't up to the task of dealing with the type of problems that the inspection revealed. The buyers were culpable and liable for the expense of the inspector for agreeing to write an offer without disclosure.

It sounds like your clients are looking to do a little bottom feeding for whatever reason, whether it's because they can only afford a lower end property or they are inherently (ahem) thrifty. Bottom feeding has it's own set of problems. Normally the bottom end homes in a given area need fixing beyond cosmetic repair or the ubiquitous "updating" or are located in areas that are not considered desirable. Good luck with this client. Sounds like a lot of driving around before you find their "sweet spot" and can put a deal that will hold together.

[rjrcm]

Originally Posted by bigskyllama

Home inspection revealed 4 bedroom home is actually to code 2 bedroom home. Septic tank is 1000 gallon and should be 1500 gallon. If I discovered termites that would be different. I found the apple is actually an orange. Isn't the seller's listing false advertising. If they won't refund my home inspection, could I take them to small claims court.

You can always take them to court. However, it's very unlikely you will recover the inspection cost. The MLS listing likely had a disclaimer (as well as your contract) that any information is not guaranteed to be accurate and must be verified by the buyer. The inspection served its' purpose and was your protection for any issues that were not disclosed or unknown by the seller. Hopefully your contract allowed you to cancel with return of earnest money if you didn't like the results. Sounds like you got your money's worth out of the inspection.