Getting a home inspected has been a tool used by savvy homebuyers to get the best deal on their new home for some time now. There is nothing illegal or unethical about it – it’s just cold, hard bargaining – one of the basic tenets of capitalism. However, it is important to know what you are doing before you use a home inspection to get a better deal on your new property. If you don’t play by the rulebook you could risk getting a worse deal on your home or even losing the home altogether. Here are the top 5 post home inspections negotiation tips.
- Always wait until the seller has accepted your offer first. You want to make sure that you put in an offer that can beat other homebuyers so that you can secure the property. Once the property is secured with your offer you can go in and have a housing inspector find problems that could get you a better deal on the final price. If you don’t wait for your offer to be accepted you could risk getting outbid by another homebuyer. It might also be wise to put a deposit down, if you can afford it.
- Never invent problems. Always be truthful with your bargaining chips. If anyone of your chips has a false claim than you could risk losing the house and possibly face criminal charges. So make sure that you have detailed records of all the problems and never encourage the housing inspector to “look further” if he can’t find anything. If there are no major problems, than you don’t really have any bargaining chips, but it was worth a shot anyways.
- Next, always hire a licensed housing inspector. Your bargaining chips will be virtually worthless if your inspector is not certified by the state. Also, make sure that they are certified within the state in which you are trying to buy a property. You can visit The Home Inspectors Network (http://homeinspectors.net) to find plenty of high-qualified housing inspectors. This website not only allow you to see a housing inspector’s credentials, but also their work history and much more. Sometimes your housing instructor’s reputation can strengthen your bargaining chips.
- Always have proof. If you don’t have pictures or video of damages that a housing instructor finds you could be out of luck. Many sellers want to see certifiable proof that the housing instructor found issues with the home. If there is something wrong with the foundation – show graphs, pictures or any other documentation that supports these claims. You could have a list of these issues written out, but there is nothing like having the burden of proof.
- Lastly, have a second or third opinion. If there are any serious structural damages it might be wise to have the seller hire an inspector to get a first hand analysis. You’ll get a much better bargain if you have proof on both sides. At the end of the day, when it comes to haggling on the price of a property you have to state your case as best possible, because bargaining is all about strengthening your chips.