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Already have an offer approved by the seller. My lawyer and agent advise to have the inspection first before signing and generating any purchase/sales contract. This means that seller can still entertain offers. I'm worried about seller getting another offer (because seller still has an open house the day after my scheduled home inspection) and i don't want to waste my money on the inspection if i'm not assured if seller will sell the house to me. i read online that purchase agreement/contract indicating the inspecion clause and many others is signed first before the inspection. Only thing I signed so far is a sales binder agreement provided by my agent , which i think does not help me a lot. Please advise what to do on this situation....Thanks.
If your buying the house "as is" condition, then I would agree that a inspection should be done before signing anything so you know what your getting yourself into. Normally, a contract of sale should have line items that describe condition of sale that requires the seller to provide a house that is in good condition specific to structure and infrastructure (roof, boiler, gutter...). With these items stated in the contract, you should be covered. Actually, it could be to your advantage if you sign and do the inspection later when if an issue is found after the signing, the current owner would require to do the repair or pay you the cost of that repair at closing as per a contractual agreement. If they refuse, then you can walk away without any penalty.
DON"T sign anything until you get an inspection!!! Who knows what kind of things you may find wrong with the house!!! I wouldn't worry about another open house IN THIS REAL ESTATE MARKET... the last thing you want is to purchase a lemon and have it turn into the MONEY PIT...GOOD LUCK
I would do the inspection. To the untrained eye, everything may look fine, but you just don't know. Yes, it will stink if you end up losing the money on the inspection, but there could be an issue that costs you much, much more and it's better to know about it know.
Honestly, with the market being the way it is, I wouldn't worry too much about the open house. (Though I admit to being one of those "it wasn't meant to be" people, which makes disappointment a little easier to bear.)
Thanks for the replies.....my situation right now is that i requested my agent and lawyer to have a purchase agreement contract be signed first with the purchase price, down payment, initial deposit, inspection clause, financing, title, etc.... (so i can be assured that seller won't entertain anymore offers) then we will do the home inspection. But they keep insisting to do it the other way around - home inspection first, then signing of purchase contract.
What should i do? because when i researched this online, usually a purchase contract is signed first before doing any inspections. The only thing that my agent made me sign is a sales binder agreement.
It is common practice for the home inspection to be done before contract signing. Home inspection companies are used to this and will usually do the inspection the day after you call them.
There are two reasons that the inspection is done before contract: 1) The attornies do not want to do the work if the deal is not going to move forward; and, 2) The sellers do not want to take their home off the market and miss out on other potential buyers if you back out or try to renogtiate price based upon the inspection results.
I strongly urge you to find your own independent home inspector, no matter if you do it now or after the contract signing. Don't try to save money now, as your home will be more than likely the biggest investment you will make.Inspectors who are recommended by real estate agents do not have it in their own best interest to find flaws in the potential property. Their inspection reports mainly consist of disclaimers and denial of responsibilty for any conditions not found. I don't feel that there is any overt agreement between agents and inspectors to hide potential problems ,but if inspectors cause too many deals to fall though they soon will find that they are no longer called by the agents who have been "harmed". Ask me how I know!
Thanks for the replies.....my situation right now is that i requested my agent and lawyer to have a purchase agreement contract be signed first with the purchase price, down payment, initial deposit, inspection clause, financing, title, etc.... (so i can be assured that seller won't entertain anymore offers) then we will do the home inspection. But they keep insisting to do it the other way around - home inspection first, then signing of purchase contract.
What should i do? because when i researched this online, usually a purchase contract is signed first before doing any inspections. The only thing that my agent made me sign is a sales binder agreement.
inspections should be done first
and you refer to "my agent"
is that "your" agent?
or the sellers' agent - the person who is selling the home for the seller and and making a commision from the home sale.
There is a big difference between a buyer's agent and seller's agent
To DonnaReed - the agent i'm talking about is my agent (buyer's agent)
To TomMoser the realtor - i got your point that this will save a lot of time for the laywer and seller just in case it won't move forward. But what i'm worried about is if i do the inspection and the day after, they will say that someone matched or beat my offer - i will end up going away with no deal and payed home inspection for nothing.
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