One of the most overlooked, yet critical steps in buying a home is the buyer completing their own research and due diligence on the property and surrounding areas. Due to Fair Housing, this is one of the areas that Realtors legally aren’t allowed to advise on. You should be checking crime rates, sex offenders, demographics, schools, etc. I also recommend driving by the house at different times of the day and at least once after dark. All the resources to help buyers conduct this research have been made available with active links in the Arizona Buyers Advisory. Other states have similar resources as well. https://www.aaronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Buyer-Advisory_01Feb2018.pdf

Once all the necessary inspections have been completed, the buyer works with their Realtor to determine which fixes need to be made by the seller. There’s often a significant amount of strategy of picking which repairs to request, so don’t overlook the importance of this step.  You want to request anything that’s a deal breaker or might cause you to walk away and then some miscellaneous items of high importance. You typically do not request all the items addressed in the inspection. At this point the buyer’s Realtor will prepare the BINSR document (Buyer Inspection Notification Seller Response). Once this document is submitted to the seller, this begins the second round of negotiations between buyer and seller. The seller has five days to respond to the buyer repair requests. The seller can agree to do everything, nothing or most often, somewhere in between. Prepare yourself that it’s unlikely that everything in the initial BINSR will be completed. Often sellers will agree to fixes that are necessary for safety but nothing else. Sometimes they will agree to a credit to cover the fixes at closing but won’t have the work done prior. This is a critical time where you need the support of an experienced Realtor who knows how to navigate complex situations in order to get the best outcome.

Often when buying or selling a home you pay attention to beautiful finishes. However, shiny hardware or fancy tile can be like lipstick on a pig…you really need to dig in deeper to ensure the property not only looks pretty, but functions well. Having a Realtor who is well versed in the common issues in the area you’re looking is critical. Upon my recommendation my clients decided to spend the additional $285 dollars to have a video scope of the pipes which revealed significant issues. A small investment up front will save the buyers several thousands of dollars of issues that were bound to creep up after they took possession of the home. On the seller’s side, make sure you conduct the right amount of investigation knowing that at some point you’ll likely want to sell the property and having significant issues identified in the purchase process can avoid heartache down the road.

Looking at buying a home? Check out my 8 Step Home Buying Process and reach out so I can help guide you through the process.

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