Final Walk-through - The Value Of Your Contract
By Raynor James, Fri Dec 9th
A walk-through is an important step in a real estatetransaction. To get the most out of it, make sure you understandthe terms of the purchase contract.
Check Things the Contract Specifies
When you signed the contact to purchase your new home, certainelements and characteristics were specified. If the home doesnot match those elements on the walk-through, the contract willgive you leveraging position. Consider the following:
If there's a hole in the wallboard caused by the leg of a tablegoing through it when the seller was moving out, the house isnot in substantially the same condition as when
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What I Have Figured Out About For Sale by Owners
We all know that the real estate market has seen better days. As the economy becomes more and more tight and families continue to cut back we are seeing a large increase in the FSBO market. What I have found is that many people choose not to use an agent for three main reasons.
you wrote thecontract and the wallboard was intact.
If you fill up that lovely, large Jacuzzi tub and the jets won'twork, there is a problem with the working systems of the home.If you start the dishwasher, and it leaks before the cycle isfinished, that appliance is not in normal working order. If allthe surface burners on the stove won't light (if gas) or heat tored hot (if electric), ditto. If the heat or air conditioningwon't come on, we have another problem with the working systems.
Allow yourself enough time to really pay attention and check onthings. Usually an hour to an hour and a half is enough. Don'thave a chip on your shoulder. Do be a good business person andsystematically check.
If your contract calls for something you can't easily judge andit requires a third party to do it (such as the HVAC servicementioned above), you can request a copy of a paid bill atsettlement. This is usually sufficient indication that the workhas been done, and you know whom to call if there is a problem.
What If You Find a Problem?
Settlement may, or may not, be delayed if a problem isdiscovered. If it's small and something you can easily fix, youmay just want to ignore it. If it is something expensive andextensive, you probably don't want to ignore it. Many approachesare possible, but my inclination would be to go to thesettlement table anyway and request that enough money be setaside in an escrow account held by a third party (not the buyeror the seller) to fix the problem. I'd pad the amount a littleto be sure there's enough. Those funds could then be used tocomplete the needed work and then the balance released to theseller.
If the seller is not willing to accept the idea of funds inescrow, I'd request a delay of settlement until the work hasbeen completed. The terms of such a delay need to be spelled outin an addendum to your contract.
Setting out to use walk-through to change the terms of acontract is not fair. However, if a walk-through shows that theterms of your contract have not been met, you need to figure outhow to get things back on track and are behaving appropriatelywhen you do so.
Most walk-throughs go smoothly. Let's hope yours is one of thesmooth ones.
About the author:Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - FSBO homes forsale by owner. Visit our "sell my home" page athttp://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your own homeyourself with a free 1 month listing.
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