Hi Steve,
Thanks for your generous account of my inspection service. People ask me what I look for, I simply state I do not know. When I cover a building from top to bottom, 360° inside and out, there's a good chance I will find the things that will negatively impact your future clear sailing. With your attendance during the inspection, we will discuss cause & effect, immediacy, repair procedure and to some degree cost. The adage goes if you have a signed sales agreement: if we discovered deficiencies and defects germane to what constitutes as a reasonably well tended home and needing repair or replacement in the very near future. Generally if they did not disclose the failing condition of deferred maintenance and or repair history then these items are rightfully negotiable. In most cases the seller will agree with repair or replacement of the substantial discoveries,agreeing to make good either by doing repairs or replacing the failings or by other compensations. In many cases the vendor will simply offer financial incentives to advance the deal. Everyone wants the deal to go through- the seller, their agent, your agent, you, the banks, the insurance agents, etc.
Everyone's afraid of upsetting the deal, the pressure to complete the deal is horrendous and mostly a fabricated strategy to stimulate desperation. That's how you sell a home; fear driven panic. After months of looking, panic rises even without external, motivated fabrications. Thankfully when you get a thorough inspection you can proceed with relative comfort to strategize your own advantages. Homebuyers forget that they are the most important person at the deal, real estate agents might make you feel lucky to get your foot in the door when in fact they are hoping and praying you will stick both feet in the door and will work to maintain that. Agents do not want to start over again with the added knowledge of significant defects that they will have to, buy law, legally disclose to the next buyer.
It was a real pleasure working with you, I hope your new place turns out to be as you imagine. Remember during your renovation please don't hesitate to contact me for advice, I quite enjoy helping people.
Happy trails ...
Ted Gilmour