Simple inspection steps during spring home-buying season to avoid real estate disclosure laws
The tide of Spring brings with it the commencement of the unofficial ‘home-buying season,’ and both sellers and buyers can take some simple steps to avoid problems and lawsuits resulting from Illinois Real Estate Disclosure Report, according to experts from U.S. Waterproofing, the Midwest’s leading waterproofing company.
The purpose of the Report is to provide prospective buyers with information about material defects in the residential real property they are about to purchase. A copy of the Illinois Real Estate Disclosure Report can be found on U.S. Waterproofing’s web site. Prior to selling a house, sellers are required to fill out the disclosure form to ensure buyers are aware of conditions or issues with the home’s foundation or other problems.
One of the first questions asked on the form is whether the current owner is aware of any seepage problems in the basement or crawl space. Leaving the problem(s) for the new owner to fix will typically result in a much lower sales price, as the buyer will generally overstate the cost to fix the problem. Thus, it’s much more beneficial for the seller to identify any problems and fix them prior to selling the home. Additionally, it’s important to note that failure to inform the buyer of any problems can also result in a lawsuit.
The average buyer believes that by law the seller must disclose all of these known defects and if they don’t then they can simply sue them in a court of law and win without fail. That is not the case. The buyer must be able to prove that the previous owner knew about the problems, which is hard to establish.
“The best advice when looking at a property is to inspect, inspect, inspect,” said Barry Schilling, Vice President of Sales and Marketing.
Buyers can conduct a great deal of self inspection themselves but should also hire a qualified property inspector. Independently qualified inspectors can be found by contacting the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI).
Before purchasing a property, buyers can conduct their own inspection by looking at the following:
- Grading and pavement. Ensure the grading and pavement around the house slopes away from the building.
- Guttering system and downspouts. Make certain they are in good working order and that the downspouts are extended out from the building.
- Window wells and outside stairwells. Ensure they have drains in good working order. As a test, run water through them to make sure the drain(s) are functioning properly.
- Water stains on basement wall and floor. Look for stains along the walls and in the middle of the basement around columns. If there is carpeting, pull back the edge along the wall and look for stained tack strips. If the foundation is constructed of poured concrete, check for cracks near the basement windows and corners of the basement.
- Crawl space stains. Check for moisture if there is a dirt floor or for water stains if it is a concrete floor. Crawl spaces should be inspected carefully as they can be more expensive to fix than basements because access is so limited.
- Sump pump(s) examination. Ensure the sump pump is in good working order and check to see if there is a battery back-up pump which is extremely beneficial.
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