Home Inspections Gone Terribly Wrong

September 25, 2016

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success” Alexander Graham Bell.

You have interviewed all of the right people, settled on the real estate agent of your choice and you forge ahead in the process of selling your house. You and your agent map out the plan, establish the sales price and they lay out the marketing plan.

You just know that you have all of the bases covered; you’re prepared to do whatever it takes to get your house in Market-Ready condition so you can get top dollar for your house.

You have completed all of the work that the experts have told you that you needed to do to get your house ready for a Quick Sale. You have done your research, read all of the home improvement magazines, researched online, completed all of the best home improvement projects, researched the competition, attended neighbor’s open houses, interviewed and hired contractors and as a result you spent thousands of dollars on fixing and updating your house. It’s ready!

You’ve scrubbed, cleaned, decluttered and staged your house. You love what you have done and you’re finally ready to put it on the market. Your real estate agent lists your house on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and 100 other websites and the phone starts to ring. Everything is working as planned. You have hundreds of people parading through your house at appointments and open houses.

Your real estate agent calls, they are excited (commissions are a wonderful thing)… your first offer comes in and it’s at full asking price.

You celebrate with a little champagne and prepare for a smooth transition. You have a plan!

HOWEVER, as you read the offer it contains a lot of contingencies;

Financing FHA (45 days to close)
Home inspections (17 days)
– Termite and other wood destroying pests
– Roof Inspection
– General Home Inspection

You aren’t worried about the inspections, you’ve just spent tens of thousands of dollars repairing and fixing anything that you thought was needed. You hired a home inspector to come out 6 months earlier and he gave you a list. It was a big list. A PETTY nit pick list! You’ve hired contractors for all of the work and you know that your house is rock solid.

But then comes the buyer’s inspection.

The report comes back with multiple issues! How can this be? You just did everything you thought possible to prevent this!

Now, before you freak out, calmly read over the inspection to verify 1) they have the right address, and 2) the claims are legitimate.

It can be very easy to get defensive, especially after all the money that you spent and work you put in. But, home inspectors are not perfect and they are always right. You never know if you got a newbie or someone that just wasn’t familiar with the construction of an actual house. There are several ways you can handle this when the inspection goes terribly wrong.

First, talk to your real estate agent about the situation. They can offer advice and suggestions for correcting the issues. Ok that is a stretch… if the inspection is bad, its bad. Misery loves company…

Second, check the qualifications of the inspector. Call your Contractor and have them get into a P!$$!&* match with the inspector. Also, check with your own contractor to make sure they are the ones that didn’t miss something and will fix what’s on the list for FREE.

Third, find out what the buyers are going to do about it. Ask either for an additional inspection, provide the initial inspection report and all the work you have completed to the seller, or ask to pay for another inspection from another, third-party inspector.

Optional – If all else fails and you are exhausted keeping up with demanding buyers, you can always sell to an investor. With all the work you’ve put in, you will probably receive top dollar for the house. You might be surprised as to what you can get when you throw all the third-party assistants out the window (not literally) and simply sell to an investor yourself as-is.

If all else fails, getting the house sold quickly is really the ultimate goal. If you’re fed up with buyers demands, inspections and keeping up with the “Joneses” call me today. I buy houses from Stockton to Sacramento and would be glad to take your home just as it is!

Image adapted by Mark Moz Flickr

We Buy Houses in Stockton, Sacramento & Modesto

I Buy Houses Stockton Introduction (209) 481-7780 We buy Houses Stockton

My name is Peter Westbrook and I am a local real estate investor and the owner of We Buy Houses Sacramento and Westbrook Real Estate Investments. I am NOT a Real Estate Agent or Broker and for good reason. I purchase real estate and I am NOT going to ask you to pay a commission or a fee.…I pay CASH and because I do, I can close on the day that I tell you.

For those of you that already know me or have already called me you can attest that I answer my own phone and I return all phone calls. When you call me at 209-481-7780 you are calling me on the same number that my mother and my closest friends call me at.

Sell My House Fast

Contact the area's #1 And Most Trusted House Buying Experts to Sell Your Home. We buy houses in ANY Condition. There is no obligation or cost. What do you have to lose?

Hear What Others Have To Say…

The City of Stockton was getting ready to tear down my old house. I was no longer able to maintain the Stockton House and after years of trying to keep up with code violations, needed repairs and vandalism, I finally called Peter

Westbrook. He came right out and told me what he could do. He contacted the city and county and even cleaned up the property before he bought it. He paid the back taxes for me and gave me an advance on the purchase of the house. Without his help I would have lost everything. I called real estate agents and other investors but no one wanted to help and no one offered to pay as much as Peter Westbrook. He completely remodeled the house and I smile every time I go by. Thank you Peter.

Leonard S

We inherited our parents house with one of our brothers living there . The property taxes had not been paid and it was in Tax default. We called Peter Westbrook and he found that the title was still in our parents name, so the Stockton House never went through probate. Peter also found that there was an old auto loan that had a lien on the

title and an old bankruptcy ruling to take care of that lien had never been filed with the courts. Peter handled everything including paying the back taxes, paying for the hiring a Probate Attorney and filing the probate and paying for and hiring a Bankruptcy Attorney to finalize the removal of the lien. He was patient, understanding and he took care of everything including evicting the tenants that were living in the house. We talked to real estate agents and other I buy house people. None of them had the answers for our situation. Without peter we would have lost everything. We got paid cash.

Steve H

We inherited my parents Stockton house with a mortgage. We decided to rent it out. The tenants destroyed the house. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t have the money to fix it and the city had already issued code violations.. I called an “I Buy Houses Stockton Sign” on a telephone pole and Peter Westbrook answered. In 4 days he paid the bank and bought my house. We would have lost everything if it weren’t for Peter Westbrook.

Mike B

I inherited my mothers house with a mortgage. When my husband and I lost our jobs, we got behind in payments. Then the Bank posted a default with a auction date we didn’t know what to do.

We didn’t have the $15,000.00 and we only had two weeks to do something. We called Peter Westbrook and form the beginning he was confident he could stop the bank. Within 4 days he bought the house with cash, paid off the bank and stopped the Foreclosure. Without Peter we would have lost everything.

Brenda T

I saw a sign on a telephone pole and against my better judgement I called. The last thing I expected was a person answering the phone. I was surprised, Peter Westbrook answered the phone. I had a lot of questions and Peter had the right answers. My mother needed to get as much as possible out of the house and we had talked to several real estate agents and they all wanted to sell it cheap and wanted a 6% commission. They all told us unless we put thousands of dollars into it could not be sold for what we wanted. Not Peter. He made a fair cash offer and since then we have sold him another house. Peter and the title company handled everything. I couldn’t be happier and I would recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone.

Cathy W

I needed to sell my Stockton House. I called a phone number I saw on a sign and talked to Peter Westbrook. The City of Stockton said that they were going to take away my vacant Stockton house, knock it down and send me the

bill to do it. I did everything that I could to try to make them happy. A neighbor offered to buy the house and then Peter offered me twice as much. He did everything he said he would do and I just had to go to the Title Company and sign the papers. He did all of the work and now the City of Stockton is his problem. Thank you Peter.

Ann C

I inherited my Fathers Stockton house. The front porch was falling in, the walls had holes from being vacant and vandalized. The City of Stockton fined us, red tagged the property and forced us to put on a new roof so we had to get loans and we still couldn’t rent it out.

I called one of those “I Buy Houses” signs and Peter Westbrook came out and made a cash offer. The House closed escrow and we got our money for a house we though was worthless. Thanks Peter!”

Broderick R.

“Our Grandfather passed away and my brother, sister and I inherited his Stockton house. He was a junkman and hoarder. He was also 90 years old and had not made a repair to the house in years. He had garage sales almost every day. The house and the yard were full of junk. We tried to get everything out so we could just see the house. We had family and friends come over on the weekends but the cost and effort was consuming all of our time.The house was a mess.

I called Peter Westbrook and he made us a cash offer for the house and he said he would take care of all of the clean up. Thank God I called. The City had issued code violations and fines on the property and even before we closed escrow Peter and his crew had the house and yard cleaned (4 large Dumpsters later) . I recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone that has a problem house. They were fast and professional”

Connie J.

“I had tried to sell my Mothers Stockton house for two years. Realtor’s told me to tear it down. I didn’t have the money for that and my Brother and his family were living there. Peter Westbrook made me a cash offer and closed escrow with my brother still in the house. Peter Westbrook is my savior. I don’t have to worry about the house any more. If you have a Stockton house that has become a burden and you don’t have the money to fix it to sell it, call Peter Westbrook.”

Rosemary R.

HOWEVER, as you read the offer it contains a lot of contingencies;

But then comes the buyer’s inspection.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply