When Knoxville Home Inspections Go Bad: When Do You Walk Away?

For buyers, a Knoxville home inspection is often a mix of uncertainty, dread, and nervousness. After finally finding the perfect Knoxville home for sale, you get the chance to inspect it and identify any potential issues.

A home inspection is an essential step in buying a home, since it gives you a chance to understand what you’re buying. Unfortunately, the results of a home inspection can often cause many real estate transactions to fall apart.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at when a Knoxville home inspections go bad and a what point you should determine that you should walk away.

Be Realistic

When you get the results of your Knoxville home inspection, you need to be realistic. Don’t get swept away in emotions and end up buying a house that comes with a whole slew of issues. Go over the inspection report with your realtor and truly talk the report through. A Knoxville realtor can help talk the problems through and let your know what your next potential steps are.

When you get a bad Knoxville home inspection, you have the following options:

• You can walk away.
• You can negotiate.
• You can accept the property as is.

During your conversation with your realtor, he or she can help offer advice on what your next steps should be. Sometimes, the issues can be so grave, it may just be better to walk away from the transaction altogether.

There’s nothing wrong with going back to the seller and trying to see what repairs they are willing to make. As a buyer, though, it’s just important that you understand the issues at hand and the true cost or repairing them, if you will be taking on some of the issues yourself.

Even though you may love a home, there are sometimes where the issues are just too much. If it’s going to cost a fortune to renovate a home, it may be better to walk away.

Determine The True Cost Of The Issue

There are certain times where a seller may be unable or unwilling to negotiate on home inspection issues. Or, they may only willing to fix certain issues. Before you move forward in the transaction, it’s important to determine the true cost of fixing the issue.

A home inspector is there to identify any issues with a home. But, an inspector cannot tell you home much it will cost to fix the issue or the true gravity of an issue. If you will be taking on any portion of the repairs, be sure that you hire a professional to look at the issue and give you a quote on fixing the issue. A home inspector or your realtor should be able to help refer you to someone who can do this for you.

As a buyer, if you will be inheriting a problem with any issues, it is best to know the cost first. That way, you’re financially prepared for what you’re taking on when you buy a home.

See If You Can Come To An Agreement

Even if a home does come with many issues, you can try and see if you can come to some form of an agreement with the seller. This can be the ideal solution for when a Knoxville home inspection goes badly. It allows the sale of the home to go through while fixing the issues.

After the home inspection, you have the ability to submit a repair proposal to the seller. In the list, you can include any items that were included in your Knoxville home inspection. Then, the seller will have their own opportunity to look over the repair list and either accept it or counter back.

You also have the option of asking for a credit at closing for the repairs, should you want to oversee the repairs yourself. Regardless of the choice, you have the opportunity to work with the seller to come to some sort of agreement. If you cannot come to an agreement that you’re comfortable with, you can still walk away from the transaction.

Think It Through

Finally, regardless of what route you decide to take after your Knoxville home inspection, be sure to thoroughly think it through. Even if you’re tired of looking for the right home or you’re out of time to find the right home, settling on a home that you’re not 100% comfortable with can be a dire mistake.

A home is a large investment. If you cannot work through the issues and get the repairs handled so that you’re comfortable, then sometimes it can be to best to walk away. You don’t want to get yourself in over your head.

Are you thinking about selling your Knoxville home this year? Please let us know if there is any way that Knoxville Home Team can assist you. Rick can be reached at 865-696-9002 or via email at [email protected]. Kati can be reached at [email protected].