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What to know for Buyers and Sellers
Here in Northern NJ, it has become more common that sellers, and their agents, request that home inspections are limited to at least major issues only. Meaning, they will not perform repairs on cosmetic items, such as chipped paint, cracked tiles, old (but functioning) appliances, etc.
Major issues fall into three categories; structural, environmental, and mechanical. The issues that a buyer will likely get either a credit for, or get repaired are things like cracked windows, anything non-functioning, roof leaks, mold, or sewer lines that are compromised. Essentially, defects in the home.
In some instances, sellers may ask that a buyer limit inspections even further by removing mechanical items. This is a tricky word from personal experience as agents and attorneys have their own definition of what mechanical is.
Typically, mechanical items in a home are your plumbing, electric wires, electric panel, appliances, furnace etc. The discrepancy I've seen is with sewer lines, plumbing and wires. Some think mechanical is just appliances and HVAC system, it is not. Some go even further and say sewer line is included in mechanical. So it is very important to have your attorney clearly state to the sellers what items are excluded if you go this route. My biggest must inspect sewer lines, especially in older homes, as it can be one of the most expensive parts of a home to repair.
For buyers, know that performing inspections is your right and cannot be refused. It's up to you to determine any limitations to include in your offer. As I stated, in this market, you should expect that cosmetic repairs are at minimum going to be refused.
For sellers, you can make requests of what you don't want to repair by saying an item or feature in the home is "as-is". Typically this will be things like the chimney, or a jacuzzi you haven't used in years. But you will be on the hook for structural, environmental, and any oil tanks found on the property.
Let me know if you have an inspection question or ever ran into an problem.
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