The right to have a Home Inspection!
In continuing the topic of the August 2023 article, “Waive the Home Inspection? ”, the good news is that Massachusetts have recently passed a law that grants the Buyers the “Right to have a Home Inspection”!
What was the problem in Massachusetts?
More and more buyers have been coerced to waive the Home Inspection in recent years to compete in a hyper-competitive housing market. The residential real estate market was so competitive, many waived the home inspection to make their offers more attractive to sellers.
Home inspectors warn it is a dangerous gamble that can cause safety and financial risks down the road. The bill would essentially remove the home inspection contingency as a bargaining chip.
“It would no longer be part of the negotiations of buying a home,” said President of ASHI New England, James Malgeri. “You can’t sweeten up your offer by waiving it.”
In short, this law will eliminate the waiving of the Home Inspection as an incentive for the Seller to accept the Offer.
Specifically, this new consumer protection makes it illegal for sellers or real estate agents to condition the acceptance of an offer to purchase a home based on a buyer’s “agreement to waive, limit, restrict or otherwise forego” their right to an inspection. It also makes it illegal to accept an offer based on direct or indirect advanced knowledge that the prospective buyer intends to waive their right to an inspection.
Good for the Hawaii Buyer?
The passage of the law means it will now be illegal, in Massachusetts, for a seller to discriminate offers based on waiving the Home Inspection contingency.
Is this a good or bad thing for the Hawaii Consumer? Stay tuned for the next article.
For any questions on this topic, please call Oscar Libed of Inspect Hawaii at 808-728-5707 or send an email to oscar@inspecthawaii.com
