Home Inspection Issues

In a buyer's market, it is not uncommon for buyers who really want a place to feel like they overpaid if they pay list price to get a property. Even when the property is well-priced according to recent comparable sales, the buyers often feel like they overpaid just to get the property before anyone else did/does. The usual scenario of a full-price offer comes during the first two weeks of a listing hitting the market.

Sometimes, this results in an attempt by the buyer to recoop some money through the home inspection.

Home inspections are not for that purpose. They are to discover the problems with the property, if any, and only the serious problems, not minor cosmetic issues. Structural problems like bad beams or severe settling, electrical problems, heating and cooling issues...these are the primary issues that the inspector is investigating. Are things up to code? If not, and the building is protected by grandfather laws from being up to current code, is the house or condo dangerous in its current condition or likely to have a problem in the near-future.

Condo roofs are an association issue but something a prospective buyer should know about in case of a future leak in the unit or a special assessment for the building, which could be costly down the road. Other inspection issues to be concerned about are the age of the hot water heater and the age of the furnace. Generally, functioning systems do not warrant a credit but often if it is extremely old, some credit is issued by the sellers at the request of the buyers and their attorney.

Home inspections in Hoboken often result in a credit to the buyers for work that should be done but it is rarely a large amount. Typically, it is under $3000 on a larger unit. Houses, on the other hand, may require a more subtantial credit due to more complicated issues and the sole homeownership of a house as opposed to a condo. Sometimes, with severe problems, a credit of $10,000 or more may be given to allow the buyer to rectify the problems.