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Writing an Offer - Safeguards Regarding the Property
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Back to: Buyer Tips | Next Article: How Financing Details Affect Your Offer
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 yet 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 need to 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 upon Transfer
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 for some of the things that a professional would find. Even if they are not things the seller is expected to repair, you will at least 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 a final inspection is included in your offer to purchase the home.
All Articles ©2000 Real Estate ABC
No articles may be reprinted or displayed without permission
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This information is deemed to be accurate but not guaranteed.
You are advised to independently verify any information
or data that influences your decision to purchase or sell
a property. The current listings & closed transactions
are taken from the Southern California Multiple Listing Service
and may not be the work product from any one agent or broker.
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Tony Dove, REALTOR®
Direct: (714) 283-1116
Office: (714) 282-4300
Toll Free: (800) 615-2707
Email: Tony@TonyDove.com
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© 2006-2009 Tony Dove
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