ShortchangedbyShortcuts?

Shortchanged by Shortcuts? with one. Even if there are multiple offers for the same amount, if one offer has waived the inspection contingency, I assure you, the seller is going to go with that offer. That buyer is effectively saying, “Here’s our offer and we’re not walking away because of anything we discover in the inspection later.” It would be silly for the seller to choose otherwise.

That said, in most cases, the inspection comes after the offer is accepted. This means you’ll have a lot of leverage. Once the house is off the market (as it has been since you went “mutual”), the seller is not going to want to put the house back up for sale.

Take advantage of your position. Make sure your agent is sharp enough to negotiate the greatest number of repairs on your behalf.

In the case of smaller, less critical but still deficient areas, the seller might be willing to offer a concession on price. The point is: it never hurts to ask.

Again, on the flip side, if you’re in a seller’s market and have done an inspection prior to writing the offer so you could waive the inspection contingency as part of the offer and position yourself as a more attractive buyer, you will, in all likelihood, not be asking for any improvements or repairs. You’ll get the inspection report to know what it is you’re buying and make your offer price based on that information.

To be clear: It’s critical that you do an inspection at some point. Buying a house without an inspection is sort of a “Warning Will Robinson! Danger!” kind of risky thing to do. Yes, you’ll be investing a couple hundred dollars to make the offer, and, yes, that’s money you cannot recoup. But you’ll have a greater, and in my view, necessary, education on what you’ll need to fix in the house after you own it.

There are other inspections or feasibility tests that can also come into play at this point. These include a sewer scope, septic suitability tests, well testing, soil testing, etc. Ask your agent what tests make sense for the property you are looking at.

You Get What You Inspect (Not What You Expect) | 123