One of the things that may bite you as a homebuyer is missing a deadline set in the contract, and one of the most troublesome deadlines is the inspection contingency deadline. Most buyers don’t realize the urgency of getting everything done in time to meet that deadline, and the loss of rights that results when it’s missed.
In Pennsylvania, real estate contracts stipulate a time period for the buyer to do their “due diligence” and inform the seller of any issues that need to be addressed arising from those inspections. Just about every type of inspection is provided for in this contract clause, and the default deadline is 10 days (although the buyer can change that to any time frame – typically changed to 15 or maybe 20 days). Many times the settlement period is too short to allow many more days than 10 to be inserted here. Keep in mind that the addendum may ask for a combination of:
1) Actual repairs made to the property
2) Seller credit to the buyer at settlement ($)
3) Reduction in the purchase price
If monetary concessions are asked for, then the estimates by contractors become very important as the basis for the money in question.
Now, the buyer has to get EVERYTHING done within that 10 days – choose inspectors, schedule the visits, get the write-ups, synthesize the findings into an addendum to the contract, get that addendum into the hands of the seller. Believe me, this can make for some hectic days (especially if the contingency period covers a couple of weekends, when contractors like to take off).
My advice is to know the inspectors/contractors upfront, start thinking about what things you want looked at very early on, and plan for time to meet at the house and with your buyer agent a couple of times during the first 10 days.
Now, once the buyer has marshalled their addendum they submit it to the seller, hopefully within the 10 (or 15, etc) days. According to the contract for real estate in PA, the seller has until 5 days from the end of the time period to respond. So if for example (in a 10 day contingency) the buyer submits his estimate on day 8, the seller still has until the 15th day to respond. But, once the seller responds to the addendum the buyer has 2 DAYS only to accept or counter the terms. Basically, things wrap up real quick and the buyer needs to know what they will and won’t accept at the end of the day…
So, inspection contingency periods are very, very important and the home buyer and agent need to be on top of it as much as possible, and plan ahead. And whatever you do, don’t blow your inspection contingency period!
If you have any questions about inspections or Lancaster PA real estate I’d be happy to answer them at jeff@yourlancasterhome.com. Visit our homepage for Lancaster PA Real Estate
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