Welcome
to The Legal Corner!
By
Terry Pochmurski
HOME
INSPECTIONS
Purchasing
a house is almost always the most expensive purchase a person will
make in his or her lifetime. Purchasers of used houses should therefore
take appropriate steps to ensure that they know exactly what they’re
getting. This includes having one’s potential new residence inspected
by a qualified home inspector before deciding to finally purchase
it. On a transaction that is usually worth at least a couple of
hundred thousand dollars, the cost of a home inspection (usually
only a few hundred dollars) is a wise investment that can prevent
losses later on.
Home inspectors will thoroughly examine both the interior and exterior
of a house and provide and a detailed written report of their findings.
The usual practice in the real estate industry is to make the Agreement
of Purchase and Sale conditional on the purchaser obtaining a satisfactory
inspection report. If the Purchaser either waives the condition
(because he or she does not think that an inspection is necessary)
or obtains a satisfactory inspection report, the deal can be completed.
My recommendation would be for purchasers to always have an inspection
done, Even if the risk of a problem existing or developing is small,
the low cost of obtaining an inspection compared to the total cost
of a real estate transaction and the potential damages if there
is something wrong with the house makes it worth while to have the
inspection carried out. From the vendor’s perspective, a home inspection
conducted by the purchaser will generally operate to transfer liability
for any problem with the condition of the house to the home inspector
who provided the report to the purchaser.
One must take care however to select a qualified, insured home inspector.
In Ontario, home inspectors are unlicensed and unregulated. If the
purchaser relies on a negligently prepared report in the purchase
of a home and problems later develop, the purchaser would have to
look to the home inspector and not to the vendor to recover any
damages that the purchaser may have suffered. To avoid that headache,
it is recommended that the home inspector used have liability insurance,
belong to an industry association and possess sufficient qualifications.
Please note that this article is educational in nature and should
not be relied upon as one’s sole source of information regarding
home inspections. Please consult your solicitor if you have questions
or concerns regarding home inspections.
Terry
Pochmurski, B.A., LL.B.
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