You
owe it to yourself to make an informed decision
before purchasing what is likely to be the largest
single investment of your life. Be sure there are
no potentially serious, hidden defects that can
turn your investment dream into a costly nightmare.
Cracked tile may be the normal result of common
settling or a major structural defect. There may
be inadequate insulation leading to higher energy
costs. Florida Master Home Inspectors, Inc. will determine the physical condition
of the property, which is different from an appraisal
that ascertains market value. Having your new home
professionally inspected, as early as possible in
the buying process, could enable you to negotiate
the purchase price and save you thousands of dollars
on repairs, which you may be able to have the seller
correct. Any indicated repairs can be made well
in advance of closing, avoiding potentially
stressful
and costly delays. The cost of the inspection is
always less than the value of the information and
negotiation tool it can provide and could save you
many times the cost of the inspection.
You have
the right to carefully examine your potential new
home with a qualified home inspector, and may arrange
to do so before or after signing your contract.
We work for you, the buyer, and provide impartial,
valuable information and an evaluation that goes
far beyond what the untrained eye can see. We urge
you to attend your inspection. It's a first hand
education with helpful home maintenance suggestions,
and you will feel confident when you see how thorough
we are.
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Foreclosure Inspections: Trust Your Gut
by Nick Gromicko, Rob London and Kate
Tarasenko
So, you want to buy a house cheap, and you look to
the foreclosure market. Considering the
over-abundance of these properties and just how
little many of them are going for, it’s tempting to
jump on the bandwagon and buy up. And it may pay off
as a long-term investment. But, like any other
major purchase, you should know as much as you
can about a property before you buy it, which is why
home inspections, performed by certified InterNACHI
inspectors, are necessary.
Unfortunately, many real estate agents, who don’t
like bargaining with banks, are advising clients
that home inspections are of no value as a
bargaining tool, since banks don’t negotiate on “as
is” properties. As an added disincentive, banks
selling properties “as is” have no legal
responsibility for any lurking defects. While the
agent's advice to forgo an inspection as a means to
negotiate on the price may be logical, it is
startlingly counter-intuitive, and possibly even
negligent. Would you buy a car without knowing
whether it has a transmission? The same premise
holds true for a house, regardless of whether you
intend to live in it, or fix it and flip it. The
Realtor may be trying to salvage a deal that could
possibly be scrapped if an inspector uncovers damage
that the bank is unwilling to pay for, and you, as
the buyer, have to realize that the agent's advice
is not in your best interest. In this case, they’re
putting you at risk in order to ensure they get
their commission.
Any Realtor advising against an inspection on a
foreclosure (or neglecting to recommend that one be
performed) is ignoring the likelihood that, long
before the previous owners stopped making mortgage
payments, they deferred required maintenance
tasks. Moisture intrusion leading to leaks and mold
are just a few of the major problems commonly found
by inspectors in foreclosed properties. Tales
abound of bizarre discoveries in abandoned
properties, from wild boars to colossal bees nests.
Former owners may loot their own properties, taking
with them anything they can pry up or unscrew, and
leave behind trash and junk that you have to pay
for to have removed.
There are also stories of foreclosed properties that
have been intentionally vandalized by their former
owners in acts of retaliation against their banks.
In one infamous case in early 2010, an
Ohioan bulldozed his $250,000 home after the IRS
placed liens on his carpet store, and
then threatened to take his house. The damage done
by the owner was apparent, but there are
probably less extreme situations where the damage
isn’t as obvious, making a home inspection of utmost
priority.
You should always get a home inspection before
buying a property, especially when you’re buying a
bank-owned foreclosure. In such cases, it may be
impossible to find out how well the home was cared
for, or whether major damage was done right before
the past owners left the property. Ask the bank how
much time you have after your initial offer to have
an inspection performed, and schedule one
immediately. If it goes well, you’ll enter into the
deal with peace of mind and a better idea of what
repairs you’ll have to deal with. That alone is
worth the price of an inspection. If the inspection
reveals a costly disaster, you can back out of the
deal and save tens or even hundreds of thousands of
dollars.
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Palm Beach County -
