Community Chat

[golding76]

suzyQ3,

You and I addressed the same topic simultaneously.

Weird.

[suzyQ3]

@golding76jinx, you owe me a Coke!

[suzyQ3]

And we just did it again.

[decaf]

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@golding76 wrote:

ValuSkr (and others),

Because I recently had a woeful tale that cost me some big money, the plumbing company that assisted me related the story of another customer they were helping the same week.  Their sad story is a cautionary tale.

Because properties move so briskly in this area of Northern Virginia, the people who do home inspections are incredibly behind in doing their evaluations.  In our area, people not only offer cash for a home but often offer thousands of dollars more than the asking price just to nab the property.  They've also forgone getting the home inspected and bought it on blind faith.   Apparently, this has become commonplace.  The plumbers told me that a couple who bought a "mansion" (as the plumbers described the property) did not have it inspected and discovered not long after their move-in that something was very wrong with the plumbing.  Everything backed up in the basement.  The plumbing had been installed "backwards" (or some such) and worked successfully for about 20 years -- until a few weeks after the new owners moved in. 

They had to have about $30,000 worth of plumbing/sewer work done.  Their insurance did not pick up one cent of it.

What an expensive lesson learned.  Better to let the property go if you cannot get it professionally inspected before the purchase.

(I hope I made it clear that they skip the inspection in order to have their offer accepted first.)

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@golding76  On a local real estate TV show here in S fl last week, a realtor was giving tips on how to make your offer stand out in this crazy RE market.   His #1 suggestion was to forego asking for a home inspection! 
That's an advantage for sellers and real estate agents, just an horrible tip to give a buyer.