- Find a Real Estate Professional
- Realtors®
- Mortgage Lenders
- Home Improvement Pros
- Other Real Estate Services
- Review an Agent, Lender or Pro
- Marketing on Zillow
- Real Estate Agent Advertising
- Join the Professional Directory
- Popular
- Real Estate Market Reports
- More
Answers (16)
- JoEllen Ufner - ABR,GRI,SFR, "jufner"
- Contributions:397
Normally I perform inspections after you have written approval i.e. you are under contract.....once you are under contract I would suggest doing it as quickly as possible. Then if you find health or safety issues the lender will normally repair. Best of Luck
- Curtis Kretchmar, "Curtis Kretchar"
- Contributions:16
In Oklahoma we have a ten day right of recission. Negotiate contract than inspect. Than if you have repairs maybe you can negotiate them.
- Curtis Kretchmar, "Curtis Kretchar"
- Contributions:16
we have a subject to inspect clause in Oklahoma which gives you ten days after contract to procure any inspections on put in writing any repairs which are needed to close or satisfy you. I would want to negotiate a price and agree than do inspections and if you have to you can negotiate price again after inspecctions if repairs are needed.
- Patty Trantham, "pattytrantham60942191"
- Contributions:11
When purchasing a short sale it is important to do the inspections. I have my clients do it after we have an agreed upon contract. On our contracts you have 10 days from the date the contact is executed to do the inspections. I always make it contingent on a satisfactory home inspection, so if there are major issues you can get out of the contract.
- Vince Curtis, "SoCal Appraiser"
- Contributions:4699
During the day....
- Maryann Spearman, "TheWorkingRealtor"
- Contributions:2
I write in the contract that the buyer has 15 days after the offer is approved n writing. I recommend getting the inspection done ASAP..as soon as it is sapproved in writing.
- Lisa Lentz, "Lisa Lentz"
- Contributions:25
When I work with buyers on a short sale I typically recommend that we write the contract that inspections would take place 14 days after the seller's lender has approved the sale. You don't want to spend money on inspections only to find out the seller's lender does not accept the contract. If there are findings with the inspection you would deal with them at that time by either asking it be repaired, further price reduction or walk away. Also ensure all you other timelines, like letter of commitment for financing are also triggered off the seller's lender acceptance of the short sale. And most importantly always include a deadline for the third party approval (seller's lender). That way if they take too long to provide a decision you can elect to either extend the contract or walk away. Depending on your circumstances, 60 days might be a reasonable deadline. It might be the right house to wait for but if a better home comes on the market in the meantime you want to be able to switch gears and not be tied up in an agreement for months on end.
- Marty Snyder, "MartySnyderRealtor"
- Contributions:5
I've had several clients tell me that their previous agent suggested they have the home inspected BEFORE making an offer. That is flat out dumb! I always advise my clients to WAIT until after their offer has been accepted, even with a short sale, it is after 3rd party approval. WHY would someone spend their hard earned money on inspections before writing an offer is beyond me! Anything could go wrong with an offer and you might not even get an accepted contract. Not to mention, during the time you spend having the inspections done, some other person may come in and write an offer on the home and get their offer accepted, then you are left out in the cold. Do NOT have a home inspection BEFORE you have an ACCEPTED contract. I hope this helps at least one person! :-)
- Kellee and Debbee Heldoorn, "Heldoornteam"
- Contributions:154
Absolutely do not have your inspection until the bank signs the contract. This is a steadfast rule! Too many things can change and you will be out the expense of an inspection.
- Maria Johnson, "Maria Johnson"
- Contributions:23
Best time to do a an home inspection after you have ratified contract and must be regular sale, to request the items to be repairs.
- Dan, "the_country_hick"
- Contributions:4699
Read the thread below.
Does the buyer have any recourse from seller not accepting full price offer? I paid for inspection..
Someone else did an inspection before getting a signed agreement. Now they lost that money and the house.
You agent is an idiot. Unless the agent is willing to pay for the inspection from their own pocket now and get reimbursed ONLY when (if) the short sale is in your name on the title at the closing table do not do an inspection now.
Ask the agent to do that. Do not be surprised if they look shocked at the thought. This agent does not mind wasting your money but would not spend theirs so foolishly.
You can always negotiate down later based on problems found in the inspection. You may still end up with to many problems and not a low enough price on the house and walk away.
Does the buyer have any recourse from seller not accepting full price offer? I paid for inspection..
Someone else did an inspection before getting a signed agreement. Now they lost that money and the house.
You agent is an idiot. Unless the agent is willing to pay for the inspection from their own pocket now and get reimbursed ONLY when (if) the short sale is in your name on the title at the closing table do not do an inspection now.
Ask the agent to do that. Do not be surprised if they look shocked at the thought. This agent does not mind wasting your money but would not spend theirs so foolishly.
You can always negotiate down later based on problems found in the inspection. You may still end up with to many problems and not a low enough price on the house and walk away.
- John Stewart, "nwhome.us"
- Contributions:2166
I'll agree with most of what Michael has to offer. The caveat is in in your level of motivation to purchase this particular home.
If I have a buyer who is in a price bracket where a number of Short Sale (SS) properties are showing up and the buyer is capable of establishing their own value on as many as 4 homes, I have them make an offer on each one, I suggest that they make the offers contingent on an inspection and this gives them an additional way out of the agreement on a specific home if if one of the other offers comes through satisfactorily for them.
The lender negotiations are typically (think Chase and Wells Fargo) not going to accommodate any renegotiation of price as the result of an inspection. So if you are highly motivated to purchase a specific home, and want to make the best offer possible to the lender in hopes that the deal closes, I'd agree with your agent; do the inspection first. Always do an inspection. From a lisitng agent's and lender's perspective this indicates a motivated buyer who is willing to invest a little money on putting their best foot forward. the lender should be able to accept a lower offer on a stronger offer. the fewer the contingencies, the stronger the offer.
$600-$700 sounds like a lot! We pay $350-$400 around Puget Sound for an average sized home. How large is the one you are looking at?
If I have a buyer who is in a price bracket where a number of Short Sale (SS) properties are showing up and the buyer is capable of establishing their own value on as many as 4 homes, I have them make an offer on each one, I suggest that they make the offers contingent on an inspection and this gives them an additional way out of the agreement on a specific home if if one of the other offers comes through satisfactorily for them.
The lender negotiations are typically (think Chase and Wells Fargo) not going to accommodate any renegotiation of price as the result of an inspection. So if you are highly motivated to purchase a specific home, and want to make the best offer possible to the lender in hopes that the deal closes, I'd agree with your agent; do the inspection first. Always do an inspection. From a lisitng agent's and lender's perspective this indicates a motivated buyer who is willing to invest a little money on putting their best foot forward. the lender should be able to accept a lower offer on a stronger offer. the fewer the contingencies, the stronger the offer.
$600-$700 sounds like a lot! We pay $350-$400 around Puget Sound for an average sized home. How large is the one you are looking at?
- Katie Elderkin, "KatieElderkin"
- Contributions:4
In your offer have your agent do "subject to home inspection 7 days after signing of purchase andsales agreement". Once the agreement is signed by both parties you canhave your inspection and take it from there. If the inspection goes well,great! If not, you can negotiate to terms you want or back out of the deal and get your depositback! Hope this helps!!
- Karen Abeyta, "Karen Abeyta"
- Contributions:20
You should have it in the contract that inspections will be done within a certain number of days after the contract has been accepted. I wouldn't do inspections or turn over earnest deposit money until a contract is in place.
- Lori Jo Smith, "Lori Jo Smith"
- Contributions:2
As an agent i would advise setting it up right after you have come to agreement on the negotiation in the contract. After the inspection you can re-negotiation using the inspection results. This is typically how all my customers do it. I have never had someone do it before they had a contract in place to purchase. It may be different where you are though.
- Michael Emery, "MikeEmery"
- Contributions:7298
I will prefer to have a "subject to inspection clause" in the contract and do the inspection after the offer has been accepted
Sounds like your agent needs to listen to their client.
Unless it's already in the purchase agreement, you will want to have language in the inspection contingency (or any other contingency that relates) that says the time frame for completing inspection begins once the bank accepts the offer.
And unless it's included in your purchase agreement, there should be a separate addendum that spells out you will provide the listing agent with earnest money once the bank accepts the offer. This way your money won't be tied up in escrow should you decide to bail.
Because only a small percentage of short sales ever reach bank acceptance and closing, it would be foolish to throw away money on an inspection unless you have bank approval.
Sounds like your agent needs to listen to their client.
Unless it's already in the purchase agreement, you will want to have language in the inspection contingency (or any other contingency that relates) that says the time frame for completing inspection begins once the bank accepts the offer.
And unless it's included in your purchase agreement, there should be a separate addendum that spells out you will provide the listing agent with earnest money once the bank accepts the offer. This way your money won't be tied up in escrow should you decide to bail.
Because only a small percentage of short sales ever reach bank acceptance and closing, it would be foolish to throw away money on an inspection unless you have bank approval.
When is the best time to do an Inspection.
My agent is advising me to do it before i sign the contract so that we can use the outcome to bargain for a reduction. My concern is, I will be throwing away $600-700 bucks if i do the inspection and the sellers bank does not accept my offer.
I will prefer to have a "subject to inspection clause" in the contract and do the inspection after the offer has been accepted and my mortgage finance lines up as expect. I want to do an inspect to avoid surprises when I move into the house.
Stating a discriminatory preference in an advertisement for housing is illegal. If you think this content is discriminatory or otherwise inappropriate and feel it should be removed from Zillow, please let us know by completing the information above.
We will review this content. Thanks for helping make the site more useful to everyone. To learn more, read Zillow's Good Neighbor Policy.