Having an Unauthorized Inspection and Asking for a Repair as a Result

Myrl:  Agents advise against disclosure because the law says that sellers aren't required to disclose but a handful of items, most of which don't apply to 99% of sellers.  They are protected from disclosing.  Used to be different, but our laws moved to strongly favor sellers over the last seven years.

Ed:  Sounds like Connecticut might be most like Virginia so far.

Elise:  And that's another thing!  Buyers OR sellers can pay for some inspections which makes zero sense to me.  If a buyer wants to make sure an inspection was done properly, shouldn't they WANT to pay for it.  Yet, they ask sellers regularly to pay for termite, well and septic inspections.  Home inspections and radon inspections are always at the cost of the buyer in VA.

Cindy:  Legal is one thing.  Legally, they probably were on shaky territory having the inspection.  But the reaction your husband had did not bode well for future negotiations.  He left with a feeling that the buyers were sneaky.  Not good.

Tammie:  Interesting way to handle it.  I'm learning so much from other states today.

Rajeev:  Of course, the buyer can ask for anything in their offer. The sellers don't have to agree to them.  Inspections are usually not a deal breaker, but can be if there are multiple offers and one or two of them want to forego every inspection in the book.

Christine:  We are to do that as well, at least in my Brokerage.  It's company policy, not state code.

Jay & Michelle:  California has a lot of mandatory disclosures sellers need to make too, don't they?  That's probably why it isn't a big deal.

Eve:  I think that right varies from state to state. Virignia's laws very much favor the sellers.  So while buyers can have inspections, they are to be declared up front.  

Jared:  You must be the reason for the gold star.  Thanks.

Kat:  Radon is a call-in to our contract, not an automatic deal at all.

Gita:  Have had that very issue crop up here.  Inspector recommends an electrician look at the electrical panel and inspect.  To be safe, when that happens, we put together an addendum because we don't want the inspection time frame to run out if we have a hard time getting one into the home.  Most sellers are acommodating if they KNOW what's going on.

Susan:  Yeah.  For those of us that practice in Virginia, it's annoying.  It's a simple thing to ask, "Would you like to have a radon inspection at the time of your home inspection?"  The hardest part of asking that question is answering the follow-up, "What's radon?"  Gee.  Here's a hard answer.  "It's an odorless gas emitted by the breakdown of rocks under the earth's surface that can build up in homes, particularly in basements.  The EPA has acceptable levels of it as it may be linked to health issues such as lung cancer.  If it tests above the EPA acceptable level, you may ask for the seller to remediate the problem.  Here's a link where you can read more about it, but would you like to test for it?"

Bryan:  Another interesting factoid from California.  

Ann:  If anything has come from this discussion, it is once again, that agents need to be well versed in their local laws and be able to help their buyers and sellers navigate within them.

Richie: Apparently, that statement depends on the state and whether or not you asked for the inspection up front.

Lorrie:  A buyer can walk after having a home inspection here, but MUST give a copy of the report to the seller, with notice voiding the contract.  

Eve:  Oddly enough, in Virginia, and most Virginia agents don't know this, if a bueyr asks for repairs, and a seller does not respond within the time frame, the contract becomes void.  So yes, a seller can allow a seller to become void in Virginia if they don't like what they hear in the repair list.  Our state, again, STRONGLY, favors sellers.  Then again, buyers, if they don't like a counter offer made on repairs, can use that same tactic to void the contract.

Brian:  I guess the words "to comply with this contract" mean different things to us.  If an inspection is not part of the contract, as our inspections have to be specifically called in, then some inspections would not be considered complying with the contract. 

Kevin:  I think each state has it's own laws that are tied to disclosure laws.  Virginia, sellers don't have to disclose much of anything.  If unauthorized inspections are done, the AGENTS are put in a position to disclose things the sellers wouldn't have to.  So if a transaction doesn't work out as a result of unauthorized inpsections, you can see where things get ugly.  

Jimmy:  This is not a post againt inspections.  When I represent buyers I want them to inspect, inspect, inspect.  However, I write the offers accordinly to reflect the inspections the buyer wishes to have.

Chuck:  I think local laws and the local contract are all vastly different.  If you aren't working in Virginia, this probably seems absurb.  If you are, it's irritating as can be.

Holly:  We think alike.  Clearly, from the comments, our state works a whole lot different than others.

John:  In situations like you describe, and I've had them, we've gone back and asked for more time and for a particular type of inspection as a result of the home inspection.  It's not unheard of.  The Sellers aren't likely to say no.  It's sliding in with rather common inspections that you didn't intend to have, having them, and attempting to renegotiate based on that.  It's akin to writing a cash offer and turning up later with a loan that needs approval.  

Jared:  Virginia isn't anti-inspection, but we do have specific authorizations to do inspections to comply with the contract.  Going outside what a buyer and seller agreed to in terms of inspections can lead to disclosure issues for sure.

Sally & David:  And in any situation where further investigation into a specific issue was advised, I have gotten the extension of the inspection period extended.  That's how it works here.

Tim:  Home Inspection and Radon are on the same page, but if the radon is not filled in, it is not part of the contract.  Well, Septic and Water Quality are also on the same addendum, but again, if they are not filled in, they are not part of the contract.  We have to check in which addendums are included.  Our contracts can easily get to be 25-30 pages.