Topic: Inspection Rights Prior to Closing-- Lets assume youre buying a house or condo. Youve done your inspection, and the seller has agreed to perform certain repairs. Your closing date is this in four days, the seller has already moved out from the house, and there was a large rain storm just this last Sunday. What rights do you as a buyer have to check on the condition of the property? Do you just have to assume everything is fine with the house, or do you have the right to check on its condition? Lets deal with the repairs issue first. Form 35 is the state-wide inspection form and paragraph d of that form does seemingly give a right to inspect the repairs, but also limits the buyer to using the same inspector to check on the quality of the repairs. There does not seem to be a time limit on doing this reinspection. The same is not necessarily true with buyers rights on move out damage or damage that occurs while the property is awaiting closing. In this area its possible that moving out the seller damaged walls or hardwood floors, or that the heavy rain on Sunday flooded and damaged the basement. While most full service agents will do a walk through of a house a day or two prior to closing, the purchase and sale agreement itself (Form 21) does not seem to give any such rights. Instead, the right to do a walk through is seemingly dependent on the agent having used Form 22D (Optional Clauses) and checked box 3 (Property and Grounds Maintained). That clause allows such an inspection within 5 days of closing. A final word of warning. Dont assume that these issues can be dealt with after closing if problems are discovered at that point. The best practice is clearly for the buyer to discover any issues before closing, if for no other reason than thats when the seller will be most motivated to fix them. If discovered after closing its entirely possible the buyer will find themselves with a damaged house and no real remedy. Also dont assume the same analysis would apply to a bank owned home, where the bank provides its own addendum or forms. Please note that this piece is not intended to be legal advice. To obtain legal advise you would need to obtain your own attorney, inform them of all the facts pertaining to your situation, and get them to agree to represent you.
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 16:26:30 +0000
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