The Inspection Process
The Inspection Process
1.
Submit an offer
This will be performed with your realtor. Once the seller accepts your offer and the contract is signed, you are now in the inspection period. Depending on the situation and contract, most inspection periods are 10-14 days in length once the contract is signed.
2.
Inspection Period
This is your time to have inspections performed and request bids for repairs. This is the perfect time to contact us to schedule a home inspection, termite inspection, and radon testing. Some home buyers choose to also have sewer scopes performed or have a structural engineer evaluate the structure. This is also a perfect time to prepare questions for the inspector or contractors.
3.
Inspection Day
This is the day inspections are performed. The inspector will provide a verbal summary that details defects and needed improvements. This is essentially the verbal “health report” of the home. This is a perfect opportunity to ask questions about your home. The inspector will complete the digital report typically by the end of the day and email it to you and your realtor.
4.
Review reports
Once all reports have been sent to you from the inspector and/or other contractors, it is now time to read these reports carefully and completely. Your realtor will also look at these reports. Your realtor will guide you with the resolution – this is where you accept the home as-is, renegotiate unacceptable conditions, request monetary compensation, or walk away from the deal.
5.
Resolution
The resolution is how you choose to move forward after the inspections. Some home buyers choose to submit a list of unacceptable conditions to the seller for repair or replacement. In most cases, these items are significant deficiencies found at the inspection, that you were unaware of when you made an offer on the home. These significant deficiencies may be significant safety hazards, systems that do not operate or in need of significant repair, or items that significantly reduce the value of the structure.
6.
Final walk through
This is usually scheduled near closing by your realtor. Here is the opportunity to view the house again, and confirm that repairs have been completed, confirm that the seller did not damage anything after moving out, and/or confirming that items that stay with the structure are still present. The inspector can return to the home at this time for an additional fee to confirm repairs if needed. If everything is acceptable to you and your realtor, the house will proceed to closing.