Is it suspicious when seller’s agent asks us to waive inspection contingency?

[Anonymous]

We suggested to buyers that they pre-inspect...some did and some did not. But that set the expectation that an inspection contingency would not work. Obviously no financing or appraisal either. That's been the market for higher end homes for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- Thanks for the replies. We put in the inspection contingency and we would not require seller to do any repairs if anything comes up. We have option to back out of the contract based on problems found in the inspection though.

That’s still a risk to the seller, so don’t be surprised if they go with a lower offer that doesn’t have an inspection contingency.

Sold in December. We went with a lower offer and no inspection. There were obvious issues - adept needed to be replaced and HVAC was old. Nothing else that we knew of. But if someone has buyers remorse, inspections are the path out.

[Anonymous]

OP again-offer wasn’t accepted, lesson learned for next time I guess. Thx again

[Anonymous]

We sold in the spring and the buyers wanted us to replace things that were old, but not broken/unsafe (e.g. HVAC that never gave us an issue) as part of the home inspection contingency. They also waited until the very last day to respond to the inspection and asked for additional inspections. Long story short, the deal fell through and when we re-listed we choose a buyer who was ok with no inspection contingencies. We still did an inspection but they could not ask for more $ back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you want the house?

Yes

get a pre inspection and see if you can live with the problems found.

I did two pre-inspections for buyers today and the issues were far less than they anticipated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- Thanks for the replies. We put in the inspection contingency and we would not require seller to do any repairs if anything comes up. We have option to back out of the contract based on problems found in the inspection though.

Kiss of death. You will not get the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- Thanks for the replies. We put in the inspection contingency and we would not require seller to do any repairs if anything comes up. We have option to back out of the contract based on problems found in the inspection though.

Kiss of death. You will not get the house.

Not necessarily. A house is by far the most expensive thing most people will ever buy. I would never buy a house without an inspection. You are screwed if there are foundational issues, major mold issues, massive water/plumbing issues, major unpermitted work. Friends bought without an inspection and found major water damage. They fixed using a licensed plumber and when city inspector came they were told the bathroom was unpermitted and it needed to be torn down. Tearing down, fixing plumbing and electric and rebuilding bathroom cost them 80K.

[Anonymous]

You can usually tell if a house is well maintained or not even without an inspection. I would never waive inspection if I had doubts about the condition of the house. If it’s obviously well maintained and there are tons other interested buyers, you need to waive contingencies if you want the house. Sorry you didn’t get it this time OP. There will be a house for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not just have a contractor walk through with you on DL

It’s impossible to get a contractor out right now to do paid work, forget about being able to schedule one for a walkthrough. There’s a huge contractor shortage right now.

[Anonymous]

My parents just sold their house (not in DMV). But they got an offer before it went on the market. It was for asking in Nov (with summer pricing), and they said informational inspection only. They couldn’t ask my parents to do any repairs, but by VA law could walk away if issues were too much.

They were confident that the house was fine, so they took the offer.

[Anonymous]

Just an FYI. We had a major foundational issue in our home. We had no idea about it, until our buyer’s inspector picked it up. But when the market is super hot, sellers typically can negotiate away the inspection. That doesn’t mean you can’t bring your over before you remove the contingency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here- Thanks for the replies. We put in the inspection contingency and we would not require seller to do any repairs if anything comes up. We have option to back out of the contract based on problems found in the inspection though.

That’s still a risk to the seller, so don’t be surprised if they go with a lower offer that doesn’t have an inspection contingency.

This is what happened to me - house in the mid 500's. Seller accepted 10k less than my offer for no inspection (which doesn't sound like a lot but still).

[Anonymous]

My buyer young couple used inspection to knock price down 10k than bailed anyhow.

My favorite they even flagged something they broke

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again-offer wasn’t accepted, lesson learned for next time I guess. Thx again

The lesson isn't that you always waive the contingency. The lesson is that sellers often are aware of issues needing costly repair and they don't want to cover the cost. So, an offer of $200,000 and no inspection trumps an offer of $205,000 with inspection that will reveal the foundation needs $20,000 of underpinning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again-offer wasn’t accepted, lesson learned for next time I guess. Thx again

The lesson isn't that you always waive the contingency. The lesson is that sellers often are aware of issues needing costly repair and they don't want to cover the cost. So, an offer of $200,000 and no inspection trumps an offer of $205,000 with inspection that will reveal the foundation needs $20,000 of underpinning.

It is because of HGTV they expect used homes to be perfect. My house got a thing flagged in 1991 on lower grade improper window install in porch in 1991. I know as bought house in 2000. My inspector flagged. I casually mentioned it to seller on walkthrough, he joked got flagged same thing.

In 2018 when go to sell house some snot noise rookie buyer flagged it. I am like dude who cares. Windows are 35 years old and porch is unheated. One of his nits and mats. I sold other buyer more experienced who I guarantee won’t replace windows. Porch is unheated. Has a large slider no need to ever use the old windows.

This is why many want no inspection.