Home Inspections Can Make or Break the Deal

Match a willing seller with a qualified buyer, a loan approval and an acceptable appraisal and you would think a successful closing is a given. But too many seemingly solid contracts fall apart unnecessarily because of a misunderstanding of the property inspection.

But, that does NOT have to be the case.

The home inspection is a giant deal killer for two main reasons. The first is emotions and the second is contractual ignorance on the part of both the buyer and seller.

The emotions of the buyer and seller are the highest AFTER the contract has been negotiated because the seller feels they gave their property away, therefore they are not in the mood to expend any further money on behalf of the buyer. In other words, they don’t want to fix anything.

On the other hand, the buyer is worried that he paid too much, therefore he expects the seller to make the home ‘like new”.

When emotions rule, the odds of a successful closing diminish quickly.

The second problem is contractual ignorance, which is usually the fault of the real estate agent.

We tell our buyers and sellers that the home inspection will reveal three types of issues;

1.Repairs that are specifically covered by the contract
2.Repairs that are specifically excluded by the contract
3.Repairs that are not mentioned in the contract

The bottom line…………The wording of the contract should rule, not emotions.