Buying a new home? Here are 5 things to avoid.
Our real estate litigation law firm has been representing home buyers here in the Pacific Northwest for decades. We have been through several of Seattle’s building booms and busts, but whether it’s a buyer’s market or a seller’s market, it is incumbent on you as a homebuyer to be diligent throughout the process whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or have gone through the home buying process before.
Here are 5 key things that you should avoid during the process of buying a home:
DO NOT succumb to artificial pressure you feel from your realtor, the seller, or anyone else.
- The whole process of offer, counteroffer, and so on includes arbitrary but always very short deadlines by which each party must respond. This only exists to create an artificial sense of urgency so the realtors can close the deal.
DO NOT waive the pre-purchase home inspection.
- Waiving the pre-purchase home inspection sets you up for potential headaches. Only waive this if the seller has provided a very recent inspection report from a qualified building inspector. And you may want to get a separate or follow-on inspection of specific components of the home or property. Has the inspector raised concerns about the roof, the HVAC system, or something else? Is there a pool or dock or some other feature of the property that warrants a specialist’s inspection?
DO NOT assume that your real estate agent is going to refer to the most qualified building inspector.
- Remember, your realtor’s primary interest is in closing the deal. He or she is not incentivized to find you an inspector who will take the time to locate every possible problem and concern about the house you’re hoping to buy.
DO NOT ignore serious issues pointed out by your own inspector.
- Ignoring major issues identified by your home inspector may leave you saddled with huge repair expenses once you own the home. You are better off knowing all the issues up front and using the defects or deferred maintenance items to negotiate a better price – or, if the problems are bad enough and the seller won’t address them with repairs or a lower sale price, to justify walking away from the deal.
- Small “issues” like a little sheetrock staining on a windowsill, or a slightly warped baseboard, could be the sign of a much larger, underlying Construction Defect. Much better to get that checked out now, with a qualified construction inspector using a moisture meter.
DO NOT sign a so-called “warranty”.
- Avoid signing any type of so-called “new home warranty”. These are typical on new homes sold by “spec” builders and are typically a general waiver of your rights against the seller. We have never seen one of these warranties such as RWC or 2-10 or HBW be meaningfully helpful to our clients.
What if you’ve already made some or all of these mistakes?
If you discover that your recently purchased home has serious problems that were never disclosed by the seller, are wondering whether you should be concerned about your findings of your pre-purchase home inspector, or if you are unsure whether the “Warranty” being offered to you by a builder-seller is a good thing or a bad thing, please feel free to contact us at 206.626.5444, or by emailing us at info@levy-law.com, so that we can discuss your concerns and see if we can help you.
Unsure if you should reach out? Read our recent blog post, When Should You Use A Real Estate Lawyer in Washington State for more information.