What You Need To Know...
Inspections and More Information for
Buyers and Sellers

In Maryland, all real estate purchases of resale homes are "AS IS" condition sales. The Contract of Sale will, however, also permit a home inspection by the buyer, following contract acceptance, if the home inspection is negotiated as a condition of the Contract. Most home buyers will want to do a home inspection by a qualified, experienced home inspector and most sellers will accept a contract with this condition or "contingency".

Components of a home that will be covered by the home inspection are the: structure, exterior, interior, mechanicals, appliances, plumbing and electrical.

Following the home inspection, the buyer can request certain repairs to be made. The seller may agree to make the repairs, decline to make the repairs, or a cash consideration may be negotiated.

What many buyers do not understand is that sellers do not have to make the repairs. What many sellers do not understand is that serious or "material" defects must be disclosed to a prospective purchaser BEFORE the contract is accepted.

In most cases, home inspections will not reveal serious defects. In most cases, defects discovered by a home inspector will be repaired by the seller.

Your agent will arrange the home inspection for you. You may select the home inspector of your choice. Most home inspectors will also take the opportunity to "educate" home buyers about maintenance, life expectance of the components and general quality and condition of the home.

Home buyers often know that home inspections will provide buyers with detailed information about the condition, construction and maintenance of resale homes. However, items of concern to Buyers and Sellers are not all covered by a home inspection. One of these items is lead based paint.

If you are looking at homes constructed prior to 1978, lead based paint could possibly be present in the paint covering interior or exterior surfaces. We at the John Collins Group provide our buyers with a LEAD BASED PAINT booklet prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

REQUIRED LEAD BASED PAINT DISCLOSURES FOR HOMES
CONSTRUCTED IN 1978 OR EARLIER.

The Federal Lead Based Paint Disclosure requires that the Sellers disclose:

LEAD WARNING STATEMENT
Every purchaser/tenant of any interest in residential real property on which a residential dwelling was built prior to 1978 is notified that such property may present exposure to lead from lead-based paint that may place young children at risk of developing lead poisoning. Lead poisoning in young children may produce permanent neurological damage, including learning disabilities, reduced intelligence quotient, behavioral problems, and impaired memory. Lead poisoning also poses a particular risk to pregnant women. The seller/landlord of any interest in residential real property is required to provide the buyer/tenant with any information on lead-based paint hazards from risk assessments or inspections in the seller's/landlord’s possession and notify the buyer/tenant of any known lead-based paint hazards. A risk assessment or inspection for possible lead-based paint hazards is recommended prior to purchase/lease.

(a) Presence of lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards

(b) Records and reports available to the seller/landlord Seller/Landlord has provided the purchaser/tenant with all available records and reports pertaining to lead based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards in the housing. Documents would then be listed and included with the addendum. 

Purchasers would then be given an opportunity to have a lead based paint inspection

For more information about Lead Based Paint, visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency web site at http://www.epa.gov/.

I cannot stress how important it is to get a termite inspection if you live here in Maryland. Maryland provides everything that termites love:

1. A moist climate.

2. Soil that is easy to tunnel.

3. A very damp atmosphere.

4. Homes that are primarily wood framed construction.

A recent study states that the majority of Maryland home owners do NOT get termite inspections on a regular basis. With the hundreds of thousands of dollars you have paid in what is most likely your single biggest investment, the John Collins Group believes strongly in yearly termite inspection which normally cost under a hundred dollars.

Government backed mortgages, FHA and VA loans will require you to have termite inspection when you sell your home. Most conventional loans will not.