Hi, /r/homeowners
My SO and I are under contract for our first home. We are very excited about it! The inspection is on Tuesday.
I have one main question, and then a more general question. The main question is the one that I suspect may be a Stupid Question. But I've been told, "there are no stupid questions...just stupid people." But I am going to ask anyway because I am that curious.
Is there anything you would recommend that I do (or anything you wish you would have done) during the inspection, assuming that you have an excellent home inspector and fully expect he will do a thorough inspection, AND, assuming that you are about 95% confident that there will be no major issues and the purchase is going to happen? (I already went through the property with a family member who is an experienced builder/contractor, and we didn't find anything worrying; so, if my expectation is that the inspection will go well and we will close on the property in about a month or two, is there anything that might be worth doing during the inspection to get a "head start?" For example, putting some pest or insect traps in the basement, putting a box of baking soda in the fridge, stuff like that?)
I am thinking this might be a stupid question because doing even these minor things to a house I do not own "yet" might be illegal, or ill-advised. On the other hand, the types of things I am thinking of, like ant traps or deodorizers are pretty benign and worst case scenario would simply benefit the current homeowners and the next buyer. The house is unoccupied, the previous owners passed away and one of their family members (who lives out of state) is now the executor, and is trying to get the property sold so they can move on with their lives. I've already been through the house twice and I did note that the refrigerator smelled pretty bad, and there was mineral (or some kind of) scale/stain in the toilet bowls, and there are some cobwebs in the basement (although I did not visibly see any insects and we are having an insect/pest/rodent specialist come to inspection).
On the one hand I think it is probably not a good idea to do anything to a house I do not own yet. On the other hand, a box of baking soda, and a few insect traps, and similar "minor" things seem like they couldn't hurt, and they would provide a little bit of a head start on improving things before we close and move in.
I am like 99% sure I WON'T be doing any of those things, because a part of me is uncomfortable with it. BUT, if there is consensus that there are small things that could be done during inspection that are actually "worth doing" in advance of closing like that, maybe I would be able to reach out to the seller and ask if she is OK with me doing those minor things as the inspection is being conducted. Having permission would seem to be the smartest and safest approach. But since this is my first home purchase, maybe asking the seller puts me at a disadvantage in negotiations... so maybe my entire line of thinking here is fundamentally flawed. Maybe reaching out to the seller in this way would imply "a level of interest/confidence" in myself that would hurt me later, after inspection, if we need to bring up problems or ask for money off or for repairs to be made.
Just for a little context, about 5 months ago we were under contract for our first home, but after inspection, the deal fell through because the sellers were being unreasonable (and lied about things until we had professionals come and prove the sellers wrong, at which point they back-peddled -- but made light of the serious issues we uncovered). This new seller we are dealing with seems MUCH more reasonable, and this time I went through the property first with my more experienced family member to see if any issues stood out before putting in an offer and scheduling an inspection, so I feel a good deal more prepared and hopeful this time around.
My more general question is simply to ask if there are any things I should look for, photograph, or otherwise do, during the inspection. (Our inspector is experienced and I do trust him, but that doesn't necessarily mean there aren't things I should be looking at, documenting, photographing, filming, or even simply making a point of asking the inspector as we go through... I want to really make the most of the experience, so if you have any suggestions I would appreciate it.)
Submitted February 19, 2017 at 07:45PM by MrM0stly http://ift.tt/2kVUM7O homeowners
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