How Are We Protected for The Items that Can't Be Inspected?
There are situations that arise when buying a home where the seasons impact the home inspections. Here in Connecticut, inspections on items like roofs, air conditioning systems, pool and related equipment cannot be tested because of the temperatures or the build-up of ice and snow. As these items are all high cost items to replace, some way to insure the buyer doesn't overpay for defective or out of service items needs to be incorporated into the home buying process.
When the seller has good service records with work done by reputable companies, a good faith system takes over. It's presumed that if the air conditioning system had been serviced within the previous 12 months, and no notations were on the service receipt indicating the equipment was at the end of it's useful life, then the presumption is that the unit is acceptable.
With respect to roofs, if the age of the roof can be determined by receipts or age of the house, it's reasonable to presume that there might be sufficient life to the roof, and in our state buying a home with 2-5 years of life left is adequate for most mortgage companies.
Pools are not as easy, as they tend to be fully covered and the pool itself cannot be seen until the weather warms. Here the service records are key as well, and a call to the servicing company can usually give the buyer peace of mind.
When records are incomplete then the lawyers handling the closing may arrange to put funds aside to cover the costs of inspections and servicing when the weather allows. While this may not be the desired tact for the sellers, it's necessary, especially if the house were being sold with the extra items being offered as amenities to increase the value.
When the buyer is purchasing a short sale of bank owned property, then the house is sold 'as is' and buyer beware. Even some home warranties may not cover these extra items that add real value and also cost to the purchase.
Having a qualified real estate agent, and licensed inspector asking the questions before the closing can usually get resolution for these and make the conveyance easier.
How Are We Protected for The Items that Can't Be Inspected?
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