Sometimes this results in a problem. That is why you need to get a home inspection done before you buy any house. In fact, you should have it in your contract as a contingency that you will only buy the hose if you approve of the findings of the home inspection.
Notice the wording of the previous paragraph. It says that you will buy the house only if you approve of the findings. It does not say you will buy the house if there are no termites. This is what we in the business call a weasel clause. It lets you get out of the contract for a stupid reason.
If the home inspector has several items of concern for you on his report, you have a big decision to make. Will you be able to live with the house if the problems are repaired? Will these problems cause you a problem when it is time for you to sell the house? Can the problems be cheaply repaired or will the problem keep occurring?
If the problems can be fixed, you can ask the sellers to have the items fixed, or to reduce the price of the house the same amount as it would take to pay to fix those items. If the items are too large, you should be able to back out of the contract.
Any time you have a foundation problem, or anything similar you have to be very careful in proceeding. Foundation problems are very expensive to fix and unless the problem is fixed and the repair company will keep the warranty in place for you as the new owner you might want to look for another house.
If the problems are not major, you can ask the sellers to simply reduce the price of the house by the amount it would take them to have the items repaired. This works great if you are handy with your hands or know a carpenter or someone who can do the work for you cheaply. Normally, sellers overestimate the amount these repairs would cost.
For example, if there was a leak upstairs and the downstairs ceiling is stained, this looks like a serious problem. But if the leak is fixed and the ceiling is replastered and painted, the problem is solved. To a contractor this is a 2 hour job and cheap to fix. But for a seller to call a contractor and get it fixed it is a major hassle and will cost a few hundred dollars. Money that any seller with common sense will quickly deduct from the sales price of the home if you will let this problem go.
The home inspection and the home inspector are two of the best friends a home buyer has. Make sure you use them to your utmost advantage. They can save you a lot of money when buying a house.
Even if your lender does not require a pest (termite) inspection and the seller says he has never had a problem with insects you should get one done for yourself anyway.
If the house has a pest problem, and you do not discover it, it could cost you thousands in repairs and months of agony. Spend a little money now to avoid spending a lot later.
A pest inspection is easy to do and relatively cheap. Just make sure you add a contingency in your offer that the offer is only good if you approve of the findings of the pest inspection.
Notice the wording of the previous paragraph. It says that you will buy the house only if you approve of the findings. It does not say you will buy the house if there are no termites. This is what we in the business call a weasel clause. It lets you get out of the contract for a stupid reason.
Even if the pest inspection comes back negative, you can still say you do not approve of the findings, and walk away from the deal. And there is nothing the seller can do about it.
Without this clause, if for some reason you had to back out of the deal, you would end up losing your escrow money.
Another way to get the deal canceled is to say that you did not qualify for the loan. Every offer to purchase should have the clause that if the buyer does not qualify for the loan, the deal is dead. But if you followed our earlier tip about having a pre-approval letter it will not be possible to use the mortgage clause as a weasel clause. So we use the pest inspection as the weasel clause.
Just make sure to leave yourself a backdoor in case you need to get away from the deal. Maybe another house you like better just went up for sale, or you decide you do not like the neighborhood after all. Whatever the reason, it is always a good thing to have an out, incase you need it.
The pest inspection makes a great weasel clause. But even if you do not use it as such, make sure to get one done before you buy. Getting rid of termites is a very annoying and expensive proposition. And not something you want to do for your new house.
Spend the couple hundreds dollars and get it done. And add it to the offer that you want to have it done, otherwise the seller does not have to allow you to do it.
Ameen Kamadia has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Buyers Guide, Foreclosure Help and Home. Mr Kamadia, is a mortgage consultant, and real estate broker in Houston Texas. For the 69 other free articles on saving money when you buy a house visit Abby's