can we ask for a second inspection post-Irene?

[Anonymous]

Currently under contract for a house, closing date end of Sept. Sellers have already agreed to give us money at closing for repairs/maintenance coming out of the home inspection, which included cutting back low-hanging limbs over the roof.

Recognizing we don't yet know the impact of Irene, would you be preparing your agent that you may want a second inspection next week? We don't want to have to deal with paying for any damage the house may incur from the storm while we are not the owners. But we are past the "home inspection point" in the process, so we're unsure of if we can even ask for this?

We don't have a real estate attorney involved, but now are kicking ourselves that we don't. Do you think we should engage one at this point?

TIA. First time home buyers already overwhelmed by the process, only the add a potential hurricane in the mix!

[Anonymous]

If you've already satisfied the home inspection contingency you can't ask for another one, otherwise some buyers would ask for inspections every week until closing if they could afford it. Now, the house should look the same as it did when you put the contract in and had the home inspection, so if there's damage the owner needs to correct it. But there may be things unknown to the eye and if it becomes an issue later that's a downside to homeownership.

[Anonymous]

Once the inspection time period is over, you can't back out of the contract unless you have another contingency in place or unless your contract states otherwise. It's one of the first thing a law student learns in property class- the buyers, not the owners, are the ones at risk during the contract period.

[Anonymous]

The morning of settlement you get a final walk-through. At that point you can see if there is damage. Then you ask for a concession if there is damage. You don't do another inspection though. Your agent should be guiding you through this.

[Anonymous]

Ask your agent if you can bring your original inspector back with you for the settlement walkthrough. He'd likely be able to tell what's a new problem (i.e., different than when you wrote contract/satisfied inspection contingency) and what's a longer-term issue.

[Anonymous]

In most states, the seller is responsible for delivering the house in the condition it was in when it went under contract. if there is subsequent damage to the house, after contract, but before closing, the seller is responsible for restoring the house to the condition it was when the contract was signed, or having the buyer agree to a concession to cover the cost of repairs. Although you cannot have another inspection, you should have a walk-through to review and make sure that there is no subsequent damage, such as with a natural disaster. Also, you need to consult your contract to ensure that you have the clause about subsequent damage. Your real estate agent should have ensured that was in the contract before presenting it to you to sign (unless you signed an "as is" clause--which is always a bad idea).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Currently under contract for a house, closing date end of Sept. Sellers have already agreed to give us money at closing for repairs/maintenance coming out of the home inspection, which included cutting back low-hanging limbs over the roof.

Recognizing we don't yet know the impact of Irene, would you be preparing your agent that you may want a second inspection next week? We don't want to have to deal with paying for any damage the house may incur from the storm while we are not the owners. But we are past the "home inspection point" in the process, so we're unsure of if we can even ask for this?

We don't have a real estate attorney involved, but now are kicking ourselves that we don't. Do you think we should engage one at this point?

TIA. First time home buyers already overwhelmed by the process, only the add a potential hurricane in the mix!

You will get a walk-through on the day of settlement. Bring your inspector back to make sure everything you flagged was done properly and to look for any hurricane-related damage. Anything that comes up is subject to further negotiation at the settlement table. I recommend bringing your inspector back anyway -- we did for our house in May and he found a couple of things that hadn't been done properly, so we got more money from the sellers at the table (although that money is put in escrow, not credited to your side of the balance sheet).

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. I talked to my agent and we will have our inspector come back at the final walk through. We did have a clause about subsequent damage. So stressful!!

Hope Irene doesn't live up to the hype!

[Anonymous]

Not to mention that you might want to know if the recent earthquake damaged the foundation, chimney stack, etc.