British Houses Vs America Houses

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Aug 15th 2012, 11:10 am

#211

WEBlue

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Location: East Anglia->New England

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Re: British Houses Vs America Houses

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nutmegger

The walk through is done on the day of the closing to ensure that nothing has occurred since the inspection. The actual professional inspection is the one thing that no house buyer should scrimp on, and which the purchase should be made contingent upon. Lenders even make their loans contingent upon a good inspection. If something bad is found in the inspection it's back to the drawing board on the negotiation -- and in CT at least if something is found and the prospective buyer backs out, it is against the law for the seller not to then disclose what was discovered to the next potential buyer.

Yes, this seems true in CT. We've seen things written on the disclosure that were discovered during an inspection and caused a previous sale to fall through. One seemingly 'great' house that turned out to be part of an old EPA cleanup site!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sally Redux

Also, turning all the taps on would not necessarily show up problems. I was watching a TV programme where someone had put in an en-suite bathroom without any waste pipes - the water just emptied under the house.

I've heard that good house inspectors turn on all taps for at least an hour and walk around watching for puddling water anywhere on the premises or in the garden. (I've heard that's what a good septic inspector always does, to see if the system is adequate.)

I've been told to follow the inspector around, because sometimes the good ones will give you tips on what items will perhaps need work in the years to come, even if it's not bad enough to appear on the inspection report.... Our buyer's agent tried to tell me the inspection was my time to "measure for curtains & furniture arrangement". Hell no! I'm going to be watching that inspector like a hawk to see what he frowns at, and whether the water puddles or not & such

Last edited by WEBlue; Aug 15th 2012 at 11:45 am. Reason: Clarity

Aug 15th 2012, 11:13 am

#212

kimilseung

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Joined: Dec 2006

Location: WA

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Re: British Houses Vs America Houses

Quote:

Originally Posted by WEBlue

I've been told to follow the inspector around, because sometimes the good ones will give you tips on what items will perhaps need work in the years to come, even if it's not bad enough to appear on the inspection report....

I found following him around was helpful in making more sense of the written report.

Aug 16th 2012, 11:32 am

#213

scrubbedexpat091

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Re: British Houses Vs America Houses

Quote:

Originally Posted by retzie

I think this is another one for the British vs. American houses list: separate hot and cold taps in sinks. (I say 'probably', since they exist in older Australian places and I vaguely remember similar in the UK. Yes/no/maybe?)

We hosted a conference in Oz last year and I distinctly remember the Americans struggling with hand-washing. Apparently they didn't enjoy the cultural experience of Burny/Freezy

In my experience in the US taps are one for hot and one for cold, at least in every house and apartment I have ever been in had separate.