Good Realtors will encourage you to have a Home Inspection. Home buyers who have chosen to have a home inspection have avoided the 3rd common mistake during their home purchasing process. There are some very important points to know regarding the home inspection contingency. We are in no position to draft an offer to purchase or offer any legal advice. The information presented on this page is to give you information you should discuss with your Realtor or Attorney.
Sometimes things are discovered during a home inspection that are unknown in nature. Having a testing contingency as recommended by the inspector would be a good line to add into your offer to purchase.
The offer to Purchase Form Relating to Inspections and Testing
Step 1 - The Offer to Purchase: In the standard Wisconsin offer to purchase form (WB-11) there is some fine print to read that will help you with your home inspection. Lines 97 through 114 defines the Home Inspection and Testing.
Step 2 - The Home Inspection Contingency: The next step is to make the offer contingent on the home inspection. Lines 298 through 315 describes what is to be inspected, House, Entire Property, Etc. This section also describes the time frame the home inspection must be completed. This is typically 7 to 15 days. It will also cover other important aspects if the home inspection uncovers any defects. Your Realtor or Attorney will cover this in detail with you.
Step 3 - Addendum A (Additional Testing Contingency): Do you want any additional testing of the property like Radon, Indoor Air Quality, Mold? This was talked about in Step 1. If you do, you will need to include Addendum-A with your original offer to urchase. Without this, the buyer does not have any right to take any samples from the home including Air, Soil, Building Materials and/or Water.
But what happens when your home inspector discovers something that may require additional testing? For example, during the home inspection, your home inspector discovers "a black organic growth on the underside of the roof decking of undetermined nature" and your offer to purchase did not include testing. The answer is "Not Much".
Good home inspectors have professional equipment that they routinely use during a home inspection. However, home inspectors are prohibited by law from taking anything out of the home for further evaluation unless the seller has agreed to it as part of the offer to purchase. Home Inspections are not technically exhaustive and are limited to a visual inspection of the operty on the day of inspection.
Step 4 - Addendum B: This Addendum to the offer to purchase typically deals with Rural properties or properties that may have a private or shared well, or a private sanitary system. We are certified to meet the Well Water Contingency for water quality.
