The Hidden Dangers of Waiving a Home Inspection
In today’s competitive housing market, submitting an offer with an inspection contingency could jeopardize a buyer’s ability to purchase a home. Performing a detailed inspection of the existing condition of the property is always the best practice to identify defective conditions that were not disclosed by the seller. Although waiving a home inspection can speed up the buying process and make an offer more competitive, there are significant risks in failing to inspect a home prior to purchase including hidden defects, costly repairs, and potential health and safety hazards.
A home buyer who waives the right of inspection generally cannot later bring suit for defects that could have been discovered through a reasonable inspection of the property. When the property is purchased as is, few legal options are available when defects are discovered such as a leaking roof or faulty plumbing. However, there are exceptions to this general rule. For instance, the implied warranty of habitability protects buyers of new homes from latent structural defects that render the home unfit for occupancy. Additionally, a seller may be liable under a claim for negligent misrepresentation if the seller is aware of a hidden defect but misrepresents the condition of the property in the seller’s Form 17 disclosure. Finally, a buyer may possess a fraudulent concealment claim if the seller takes steps to conceal a defect that is dangerous to the property, or the health of the buyer and the condition is not discoverable by a reasonable inspection.
A buyer should weigh the need for a full assessment of the property with the risk of unknown defects that could require costly future repairs. This risk can significantly increase with the age of the property for sale.
To learn more about The Hidden Dangers of Waiving a Home Inspection in Washington State, please contact Beresford Booth at info@beresfordlaw.com or by phone at (425) 776-4100.
