After receiving an inspection report, there are two possible outcomes about how the situation may develop. In the best-case scenario, everything is fine, the house is in exemplary condition, and no further work is required. You’re good to go with other paperwork. A more typical scenario is that the house requires minor repairs. This may involve negotiations that the repair be done and inspected before moving along, or some price concession to account for your expense to make repairs at a later date. The worst-case scenario is that the house needs major investment not contemplated in the offer — for example, the roof has exceeded its useful life and is in immediate need of replacement or the sub-structure leaks and can’t be inexpensively remediated. You might ask the seller to vastly reconsider the sale price, ask for the full amount to fix the problem(s), or walk away. An option period should be part of the conditions/contingencies in a home contract, thus if common ground cannot be reached on repairs, the buyer has a right to terminate during the option period and any earnest money will be refunded. The option period ends at 5 p.m. on the last day of the option period so all negotiations must be complete and signed off on by BOTH parties BEFORE 4:59 p.m. on that day. Regretfully, there’s no standard template and step-by-step guidance about what to do if there are issues with the house. It depends on how you crafted your conditions. The best buyer option (and this would probably only happen in a buyer’s market) is where the seller is liable for all the necessary repairs. We are looking for issues on the inspection report related to structure, mechanical systems, and safety issues...not cosmetic or nit picky items. In the event that the seller is advertising that they are selling the house “as is", your inspection it technically only for informational purposes. Sadly, you will now have to calculate the
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