Virginia is a caveat emptor (buyer beware) state. This means that a Seller isn’t required to disclose much about the house you are going to buy. For example, you are not given a disclosure statement telling you the age of major systems such as heating and cooling, roof, pipes and electrical systems. The buyer either requests that information from the Seller and/or conducts inspections to discover the condition of the property.
These inspections can include the home inspection as well as fireplace, sewer, air quality, septic inspection, and any other inspection to understand the condition and how well the home ha sbeen maintained over the years.
In many states a Seller is required to furnish a lot of information on the home they own to the prospective Buyer. Sometimes a Seller is even required to conduct a home inspection prior to selling it and provide the inspection findings to all buyers.
In Virginia homes are sold “as is” and Virginia only requires one disclosure form to be signed by the Seller. However, as soon as the Buyer reviews that form, they realize the Seller “does not make representation” for various issues concerning the property and its land.
To give a Buyer some level of comfort, the attorneys from the National Virginia Association of Realtors, created a contract giving a Buyer the option to negotiate inspections of the home. The contract gives a Buyer the option to include a Home Inspection with an option to void the contract or request repairs from the Seller. These are terms negotiated between the Seller and Buyer.
In the last few years, many buyers bought homes and waived their right to an inspection, to make their offers more appealing to sellers. Most homes sold without any inspections. Although we highly discourage such a purchase, to win in a bidding war, many of our buyers had no other option. To get around these obstacles, we encouraged our buyers to invest in a pre-inspection. It helped alleviate any concerns, especially in the purchase of an older home.
With interest rates going up, buyers have gained some negotiation opportunities, and we recommend having the inspection. It is one of the best investments in the purchase of a home.
It is important that both buyers and sellers work with real estate agents who understand Virginia law. When you work with the Ana and Melissa Team, you get that expertise and knowledge. And we also work with professional and expert home inspectors and contractors – to give you the information needed to best negotiate the purchase of your next home.
