Should you consider waiving inspections when buying a home? What does this mean for buyers and sellers?
First off, there are three dates and deadlines associated with inspections here in Colorado: the inspection objection deadline, inspection termination deadline, and inspection objection resolution deadline. The inspection objection deadline states the day by which your inspection should be done and your written inspection objection should be given to the seller. The inspection objection resolution deadline is the date that the seller needs to respond to the buyer. If the buyer asks for four items but the seller is only willing to handle two, they have to put that in writing and send a notification to the buyer. The inspection termination deadline is typically the same day as the resolution deadline.
If you’re the buyer and you waive inspections, does that also mean you forfeit the right to an inspection? No—you still have the right to order one. You basically remove your inspection objection resolution deadline, but you still have an inspection termination deadline. This means you’re willing to not ask for anything, but you retain the right to terminate the contract if you find something you’re not willing to live with. The bottom line is that waiving inspections does make your offer a little more competitive.
“The bottom line is that waiving inspections does make your offer a little more competitive.”
If I’m working with a seller, I certainly like to see these types of offers from buyers. However, in practicality, I would hate for my seller to go under contract, have the actual inspection, and then find out that the buyer terminated the contract based on something small that you’d have to repair anyway. For example, if your roof has hail damage, you probably need to get it replaced regardless of who you sell to. That’s why I always keep in communication with the buyer and their agent to find out whether there’s anything that will cause a contract termination.
So to summarize, your risk as a buyer when waiving inspections is that you can’t ask for any repairs (although I highly recommend getting an inspection anyway). Your risk as a seller in accepting an offer that waives inspections is that the deal could fall through based on something small.
If you have questions about this or any real estate topic, please feel free to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.
