The rules are different in Florida. Maybe you hadn't heard. ;)
The contract says she can have it inspected and we agreed, but it doesn't mean I'm agreeing to correct what the inspector finds.

Does the contract state that the purchase is contingent on a satisfactory inspection?

Or are you saying the state mandates an inspection but you can ignore the results and keep the security deposit if they flake out?

I am confused... you said "you insurance agent" told you they inspect 4 things...

What does that have to do with the purchase? An insurance agent may inspect the property to assess its suitability to be insured, and they may advise a person that they wont provide coverage unless it meets their underwriting criteria...

That usually has nothing to do with the sale...

Perhaps Florida is different than Illinois and Wiscosnin...

As you can imagine FL has some strong real estate consumer laws due to our storied past with land sharks from the North.

As-is sales/contracts and inspections are not mutually exclusive here, nor are they in any other locale I've dealt with (mostly NW and SW region states). In fact, inspections are quite common on as-is sales, and most boiler-plate as-is addendums will have an additional inspection advisory/recommendation (caveat emptor) clause. Granted, for seasoned investors/flippers it's a different story, and formal inspections are rarely conducted.

Basically, all an as-is clause does is let the buyer know up front that the seller will not be making any repairs or providing any warranties, regardless of any inspections or lack thereof. Unless otherwise specified, it does not remove the contingency/due-diligence period, and a buyer still has an opportunity to conduct an inspection. If they find something they don't like, they can walk and get their EMD back (assuming they submit a timely response inside of that due-diligence period).
All RE contracts are different though, so be sure to read/know/understand the one you have executed.

It's also worth noting that an as-is clause does not relieve the seller from disclosure obligation. If you are selling a property that has material defects that you were aware of, but failed to disclose, that as-is clause will not save you should the buyer come after you later.


Bottom line for OP:

I'd wait until you get the buyer's inspection response before doing anything. If they request items to be fixed/replaced, you can either point to the "as-is" clause and decline, or entertain their request.
For the latter, it's usually better for all parties involved to simply offer a credit at COE, in lieu of any repairs.

YMMV...

SmileWavy

Boom! ^ ^ ^ This.

That doesn't mean you should not have a PPI as the buyer. A broken head stud would be a no buy for me in a Porsche, and Termites a no buy in a home. Doesn't mean I won't buy an As Is, it just means I want an informed opinion before the purchase.

most homes have termites, even the new ones. if you buy the house with all cash, as-is, you should love it and get a good deal. in SoCal, about half or more of all transactions are all cash because sellers don't want to wait for financing.

Hey, the land sharks up north were only from NYC/SNL...

Damn, I must be doing something wrong, building new homes for 35 years and I never thought to pre-infest them with termites. :rolleyes:

Fair enough but if I were to sell my place "as-is" (and I'm actually contemplating this right now - probably need to wait until spring though) I want it gone - I don't want to dick around with people looking for reasons to not buy it. It is what it is - an old house with a few issues but most of which has been painstakingly worked out - correctly - by me. It's used, not new and I'm not looking to sink a lot into it to make a sale that ultimately may or may not happen. If / when I decide to list, I want it gone and I don't want my time wasted by starry-eyes idealists thinking they'll get the deal of a lifetime. They won't. They'll get a fair deal. Nothing more, nothing less.

Just accepted an offer on my house yesterday. This is the part about an inspection..

· The Home Inspection:

I will let you know as soon as the inspection has been scheduled. All utilities must be on for the inspection. The home inspector is hired by the buyer and typically is not there to talk to the seller.

The only items you will need to be concerned about are on the Amendment to Address Concerns, and the inspection report will only be a reference for the amendment. I will call you to discuss how you would like to proceed as soon as I have had an opportunity to review the amendment and inspection report.

I'm surprised nobody has brought up "Location, location, location"

Where is the hot water heater located? In the attic above the living space, in the utility closet in the garage or? In other words what is the worst "peril" that could happen should it fail for the buyer?

That's BS and should be the responsible of the buyer and their agent, not seller's responsibility to point those thing out. Buyer should see these issues for themselves first time when they see the house( location of water heater, utility closet or peril). If they are there and pass building code, I don't see how that's a problem?

Did I say it was "the seller's responsibility to point those things out"?

Seller has disclosed the age of the water heater is 30 years. Would you agree that is 2 to 3 times the average life span of a water heater? They work fine and then they fail. And when they fail they fail miserably. Now, as a buyer, would you be more concerned about a 30 year old water heater on slab in the utility closet of the attached garage or in the attic above the living quarters? Do you agree that there is a significant difference in "peril" here given one would might require a mop and maybe a bit of drywall vs. a ceiling and perhaps repairing interior walls? The seller went from "as-is" to agreeing to "fix 4 things that will cost about $100 and half a days work". So "as-is" is now off the table. Correct? The cost of a new water heater is probably a drop in the bucket compared to the selling price of the home. I'm no realtor, in fact I rather despise those sorts as a Land Surveyor, for that matter I dated a realtor to try and figure them out once upon a time........but if I were the seller I'd suck up that drop in the bucket and throw it in as a selling point for if not this buyer maybe the next.

Seller should suck it up...then don't offer to buy a house as-is. Not sure why seller has to disclose the age of the heater? I have never done it and have never had it disclose to me when we purchased. Buyers should know a thing or two about homes before they pull out the All-Cash (like if they scream, I need it so sell it to me now) as-is offer. Seller offers the house and its sold without repairs to any known defects or not. As-is sure sound like it to me unless its not that way in other states? Buyer need to research these issues, such as 30 year old water heaters. You as a buyer should know water heaters don't last 30 years going in, and should know how to read a label. If not, again, don't buy a house as-is. My opinion is that if a buyer has enough cash to buy a house, they should have enough knowledge about when replacing a water heater is a must. Buys demands are sometimes out of this world. The way they see it, it wouldn't hurt to ask thinking they have it locked up in escrow (seller has to still pay the note for the time being) and negotiate hoping they will fold.

A buyer once demanded that we install an exterior clean out for the main stack on an old 40's home. Their dumb agent suggested code update.:rolleyes: I pulled the deal, refunded their good faith money and sold it to the backup offer. The agent tried to contact us and dropped their demands. I fell bad for the dumb buyer due to the fault of the dumb agent who caused them to lose a deal. Its the buyer's responsibilities to know these things.

WH is in a closet in the garage. SmileWavy

Then who cares? The buyer can (should) put in a collection pan with a drain fitting then attach piping to it going to a sump or floor drain (or other suitable location) that way when the WH pukes its guts and lets go the water goes into the pan and drains harmlessly away.

A new WH is pretty inexpensive of a thing to fret over. When I bought my place it didn't even have a WH, if just used a heat exchanger on the oil-fired boiler (an arrangement I hated - didn't want to have to burn oil in the summer just to keep a domestic HW supply available at then close to $4 a gallon). I installed a 220V circuit and a new electric HW heater (with a collection pan as described above) and added copper Ts and shutoff valves to the existing domestic HW supply and return lines. That's about as extensive of a job as anyone would ever have to do and it took me probably three casual weekends not killing myself or putting in obscene hours on it - everything from cutting / sweating lines to piping to electrical (had to add a CB to the panel, run conduit and pull the wire), a timer box, collection pan as described above, everything. Total cost was less than 700 bucks including the heater itself, copper piping, etc. I got the wire for free from a friend so that probably saved another $100-$200 (heavy gauge copper wire is admittedly expensive). My point is this is not that big of a deal for anyone with modest home improvement skills. I now have reliable, cheap HW with the oil boiler HEX backup if ever needed.

This sounds like a $500 concern since there's a HW heater there already. Maybe $1,000 if the buyer is a stooge that has to hire someone to do it for him. The buyer is making an issue out of nothing. Buy the damn place and then replace it if it really concerns you but generally HW heaters are "run to fail" anyway. Sounds like this buyer is being kind of an ass on what's supposed to be an "as-is" sale.

The whole reason for the inspection is for the buyer's homeowner's insurance company.

That's why it's a 4 point inspection.

Even though there will be no mortgage......the buyer will still need to satisfy her insurance company's criteria to insure the home, if she is to have homeowner's insurance.

And that is why Paul is being asked to replace the water heater.....the insurance company doesn't care if something is working or not...if it is a certain number of years old - it must be replaced.

Of course....Paul has the right to not replace said water heater......or replace it at the new buyer's expense for her.....or whatever negotiation is desired.

Every transaction is different and I don't have enough data to give Paul advice on what to do. I've negotiated many a deal in my lifetime and it's different every time.

Paul, some good advice here. Frankly your listing agent should have suggested it before the deal, at the time they took the listing, new wh adds value. I'd wait until this (and other) issues are pointed out by the buyer's inspector.

I have never had any insurance company get or request a copy of an inspection report. Inspections have always been to the benefit of me, the potential buyer - to hopefully get an unbiased opinion of the status of the house and all infrastructure.

Is this inspection/insurance a FL thing?

Sound like it. We don't need that here in socal for insurance.