Going on a 'Friendly' Archaeological Neighborhood Dig
After a few looks, buyers chose a beautiful home at market price in a local southern Utah community that would give them many years of quiet enjoyment. After negotiating the price and some terms, an acceptance resulted.
Then, time came for due diligence. The home inspection went very well, appraisal came in where expected and Seller's Property Condition Disclosure was signed. Onward, or so we all thought!
Advice from well-intentioned friends is like the
weather, some good and some bad.
The buyer called a friend to discuss soil conditions, who put a high level of doubt into his mind. The house was 15 years old, zero complaints to the City regarding shifting, buckling or heaving foundation issues. Current owners mentioned nothing on the subject in the Sellers Property Condition Disclosure document.
~ Buyer then requested:
- a soils report
- survey paperwork
- geo-technical results
- soil compaction test
- grading report
- a map depicting level of expandable soils within that community, footing and slab on grade inspections, which I provided through research, going all the way back to the time the property was subdivided into home lots.
Bad advice cannot be changed.
As a potential home buyer, he has every right to go as deep as necessary to move forward. He was given every piece of paperwork from all sources to help quash any doubts that their future home was a bad investment.
It wasn't enough.
He dug even deeper for more documentation until there was nothing left to unarchive. After considering all the information, his doubts only intensified. He cancelled the contract before losing the earnest money.
Once that seed of doubt is planted, it grows into a caustic monster that ravenously feeds off fear. Eventually the buyers found a property without consulting the 'friend'.
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