appraisal and inspection (contingency, agent, sale, accepting)

[JonHomeHunter]

Finding myself in a little dilemma.

I'm in escrow right now and I'm due to close in 4 weeks. I wanted to get the appraisal in first, then the home inspection because we have an appraisal contingency, and if the deal (for whatever reason) falls through then we're only eating the appraisal cost.

But there was a delay with our lender so they weren't able to order the appraisal until today (I'm assuming it will get done later this week?), but my agent already booked an appointment for the inspection tomorrow.

Now if we find out the deal doesn't go through because the home doesn't appraise, then we're eating the cost of the inspection too.

Are inspection appointments hard to come by? Can I ask my agent to wait for the results of the appraisal, and then book an appointment for home inspection? Or will I be too crunched for time at that point? Is it normal to get the inspection done first so that the appraisal can reflect some of the things found in the inspection?

Any help is appreciated.

[theteardrop]

well with the inspection done first you can negotiate to fix anything that needs it, thus having it repaired prior to the appraisal.

[kevcrawford]

I can call and get any one of my inspectors out there the next day. In Texas, we traditionally do the inspection first during the Option to Terminate period. Inspections are usually cheaper than appraisals.

[tryin2buy]

I had to wait 8 days for an inspection, they do 3 a day and were booked solid (probably due to the first time home buyers crunch). But they are good and subsequently very busy.

My PA said that I had 7 days from acceptance of offer to complete the inspection(s).

[rjrcm]

It really depends on how much time in your contract you have for your inspection contingency. Can you get the appraisal and an inspection before time runs out? It can take a couple weeks to get the appraiser out and the report completed.

[JonHomeHunter]

Thanks for all the replies.

But the property is being sold "as is" so the inspection is just for us to find out if we need to fix anything, or if we want to bail out.

I guess its really just a ~$400 "piece of mind" procedure.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by JonHomeHunter

Thanks for all the replies.

But the property is being sold "as is" so the inspection is just for us to find out if we need to fix anything, or if we want to bail out.

I guess its really just a ~$400 "piece of mind" procedure.

Every home is basically sold "As Is". If it is all "Lipstick on a Pig" why would you want to buy a POS regardless of how much it appraises for? That is unless you have plenty of money to pay out of your pocket for repairs? By knowingly not performing your due diligence (inspection) your accepting all of the problems that might be there. Appraisers are not Inspectors, and even with the new appraisal rules they still do not perform the function of an inspection.

In the past 12 months alone I have worked with plenty of buyers who chose not to have an inspection, or chose to use some previous, seriously flawed inspection given to them for free, all so they did not have to spend a little for their own. I do what I can to help them but it all boils down to the same thing. They are stuck with the home and have little to no hope of ever recovering any costs for issues that could have been caught with an inspection by their own Inspector.

[JonHomeHunter]

Just wanted to update you guys on how it went.

The inspection went GREAT. No major problems, and the minor things that were reported, the seller agreed to fix them (even though they originally said "AS-IS").

Now for the appraisal........

[sportsgal]

Glad to hear the inspection went well, and it's good that you got it first. We recently had a deal fall through after inspection on an as-is house. There was asbestos tile and insulation, peeling plaster revealing lead-based paint, plus termite and water damage. We tried to renegotiate the sale price based on the extent of the repairs, but someone else swooped in and offered full price, cash, close in seven days. Based on the inspection, we knew we didn't want to meet that offer, which is also likely to fall through following the new potential buyer's inspection. It was a blessing in disguise. Got our earnest money back and won't have to spend a fortune addressing serious structural and safety issues. The $525 we spent/lost on termite inspection and full inspection were well worth it.

[rjrcm]

Originally Posted by sportsgal

...but someone else swooped in and offered full price, cash, close in seven days. Based on the inspection, we knew we didn't want to meet that offer, which is also likely to fall through following the new potential buyer's inspection. ...

They likely waived an inspection if closing in 7 days. Hopefully they did some homework before hand.