Writing an Offer - Safeguards Regarding the Property
Disclosures
From the Seller
Although you have toured the
property, looked at the walls and
ceiling, turned on the faucets and
played with the light switches, you
have not lived in it. The seller has
years of knowledge about his or her
home and there may be some things
you want to find out about as
quickly as possible. For this
reason, you will require certain
disclosures as part of your offer.
Basically, you want the seller to
disclose any adverse conditions that
may have a substantial impact on
your decision to purchase the home.
This would include any problems with
the house, whether the property is
in a flood zone, a noise zone, or
any other kind of hazardous area.
If you have an agent representing
you, this is almost automatic, but
many states do not require
individuals selling their own home
to provide you with this
information. Often they do not
require banks selling foreclosed
property to provide these
disclosures, either. Obtaining these
types of disclosures should always
be a part of your offer, and time is
of the essence.
Condition of the Property
The last thing you want when you
assume possession of your new home
is to find it in a total mess.
Therefore, you should make it clear
in your offer that certain minimum
standards are required. If you do
not, you might find out the seller
or neighbors have begun using the
back yard as a trash dump, or
something worse – and you would not
be able to do anything about it.
Some of the requirements you might
want to include in your offer are
that the roof does not leak, the
appliances work, the plumbing does
not leak, that there are no broken
or cracked windows, the yard has
been kept up, and any debris has
been cleared away.
Inspections You Should Require
Besides appraisal and the termite
inspection, you should also have a
professional go through the house
and seek out potential problems. Of
course, you will have inspected the
home, but you are not used to
looking at some things that a
professional will find. Even if they
are not things the seller is
expected to repair, at least you
will have foreknowledge of any
potential problems.
The seller will want this inspection
performed quickly, so that you can
approve the results and move forward
with the purchase. Once you receive
the inspection, you will want to
allow yourself sufficient time to
review and approve the report. If
you do not approve the report, you
may negotiate with the sellers on
which repairs should be performed
and who should pay for those
repairs. Otherwise, you can cancel
the purchase without penalty,
provided you have included
timetables in your offer.
Allow a maximum of ten to fifteen
days to receive the report and five
days to review it.
Final
Walk-Through Inspection
Before closing, you will want to
revisit the property to ensure it is
in the condition you have required
in your offer, and to inspect that
any required repairs have been
performed. You should do this no
sooner than five days before you
intend to close. Make sure this
right to do a final inspection is
included in your offer to purchase
the home.
return to top