Congratulations, you have an accepted offer. What happens next? In almost cases, there will be a professional home inspection. The buyer should always have a home inspection and it is at the buyer’s expense. The length of the inspection period is clearly defined in the earnest money agreement (the purchase contract). If the buyer does not act during the defined period, the contingency goes away; non-action is considered acceptance.

The buyer has four options during the inspection period:

1) Negotiate with the seller about the repairs to be completed or a price reduction to reflect those repairs.
2) Tell the seller that unless the seller agrees to the specified repairs, the contract is terminated.
3) Terminate the transaction based on the inspection report.
4) Waive the inspection period and continue the transaction (this happens automatically with inaction but should be completed so that there is no question later that the buyer accepted the inspection).

Often, the inspector will bring up areas of concern that merit additional investigation by a qualified professional. These inspections need to be completed during the inspection period so that repairs can be negotiated in a timely manner.

The Oregon Real Estate Agency published the Oregon Property Buyer Advisory. It contains a lot of information for the new and seasoned buyer. Download Buyer Advisory.pdf (145.8K)