Hello there!

There's no secret that there are many buyers on the market. And many of them are first time home buyers. One of the first things they ask upon deciding they want to offer- "What if something is wrong with the house? Can I back out of this?" Today I am going to outline your options as a home buyer based upon the area that I work in.

Congratulations, your offer has been accepted and you're in contract on a new home! First things first: When is the home inspection? Who pays for it? The buyer's agent will indiciate a deadline for the home inspection when writing the offer. You typically want to do the home inspection pretty early on, so you aren't wasting your time or the seller's time if it isn't going to work out. The agent will also indiciate how many business days you have to make your requests, and how many business days the seller has to respond to your requests. Generally speaking, the buyer pays for their home inspection. Your realtor can recommend home inspectors to call. In my area, I am required to give 3 choices of home inspectors to my buyers.

The home inspection has been completed and you have received your report. Now what? I want to first point out that home inspection reports can be overwhelming. Some of them are very lengthy, but that doesn't always mean you have cause for concern. It is the inspector's job to notate every little thing. The inspector may also notate things at a surface level because the area of expertise is outside of their scope. For example, he or she may say that they see a red flag on something electrical, but that a true licensed electrician would need to further evaluate and repair. He or she might find something indicative of a structural issue, but they will recommend that a structural engineer come give it a look. Read through carefully and determine what looks okay and what you want fixed. You have 4 options. Again, I am speaking to the specific area where I work. You can either: accept the home as is, ask the seller to make repairs, ask the seller for credit in lieu of repairs, or terminate the purchase agreement completely.

I have dealt with each of these options. How do you know which is the best choice? You would perhaps accept the home as is if the home inspection was so exceptional, you didn't feel the need to ask anything of the seller. Sometimes that option is also selected if seller has made it clear they are not willing to repair or credit the buyer. The two most popular options are to ask for repairs, or a credit in lieu of repairs. You need to consider what the repairs are, how costly the repairs are, and how long it would take to complete said repairs. From a buyer's point of view, you may want small repairs completed before moving in. Larger repairs may take more time proloning closing. In the event of large repairs, you may want to ask for a credit. From the seller's perspective, is it easier for you to handle the repairs that aren't too costly, or are you out of state and don't want to deal with it and would rather credit the buyer? These are all things to ask and the answers are on a case by case basis. And unfortunately, there have been times when the buyer felt that they needed to back out completely. 

The home inspection is a stepping stone on the path to closing. It is another point of negotiation. Your realtor can provide you with guidance on all of this and more! Hope this was helpful to you if you're planning on purchasing a home soon.