The home inspection usually occurs within 3 – 7 business days after the contract is accepted.
The buyer will schedule the inspection and his/her Realtor will confirm the day/time works for us. Most inspectors do not work evenings or weekends so usually the inspection takes place during a week day. It’s important that the home inspection occur quickly, as it often takes the inspector 1-2 days to write the report after the inspection. Sellers should not be present for the home inspection. Instead, it’s a time for the buyer and the buyer’s Realtor to be alone in the property with the inspector. The inspection can take 2 – 3 hours depending on the size of the home. The home should look just like it did for the showings with beds made, dishes put away, pets out of the home, etc.
After the inspection, the inspector will write the inspection report. This usually takes 1 – 2 days. Then, the buyer will need to review the report and the buyer’s Realtor will ask us for any credits or repairs the buyer wants. We’ll then negotiate these items back and forth and, hopefully, come to an agreement. If major problems are found during the inspection, the buyer does have the right to walk away from the deal and the earnest money will be returned to him/her. Any agreed upon repairs need to be completed prior to the final walk through, which usually occurs the day before closing, and receipts need to be provided to the buyer, showing the required work was completed and paid for in full prior to the walk through.
After this point, it’s difficult for the buyer to back out of the contract. If the buyer does back out for any reason other than not being able to get approval for the mortgage, the buyer will most likely lose his/her earnest money back and instead you’ll get to keep it. Now we patiently wait for the buyer’s loan to get approved and focus on the last remaining items to get you prepared for closing!
