Pinetop White Mountain Blog

Good Saturday Morning Everyone,

It is Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial beginning of summer.  The traffic on the Mountain this morning signifies that it has officially begun even if the calendar doesn't say so.  Welcome visitors, our businesses love you and are glad you have come to visit.

Now down to the purpose of this post.  When buying a home the opportunity to conduct Home Inspections is vital to your satisfaction with the home once it closes.  Buyers are guaranteed an appropriate amount of time under the Arizona Residential Purchase Contract to conduct as many inspections as they feel are necessary before they commit to the purchase.  Home Inspectors in Arizona are required to pass an examination at the State level and acquire a license to conduct those inspections.  Does that mean that they are infallible? No. They do their best with the information available to them but they are not seers, and they can't predict what might happen later. They can only report what they see, not what might happen in the future.

So what happens after closing when something goes wrong? Well not much in truth.  The buyers have had their opportunity to investigate the condition of the home and they have signed off that all was as it should be at closing. However, they also were given the opportunity to ask the Seller to provide a Home Protection Plan or to purchase one themselves.  As an agent I always encourage my buyers to purchase one even if the seller refuses to bear the cost. 

Why, you ask? The simple answer is that no home whether it is new or old, whether it has been immaculately maintained or not; something is bound to break after closing.  Appliances wear out, plumbing can spring a leak, an outlet can malfunction, any number of things can pop up after closing, especially if the home has been vacant for a while before it was purchased. Everything could have been working fine on the day of the home inspection but the day after closing it could break. It is Murphy's Law, if it can it will!

Now here is something you might not know, if you are a seller, you can purchase a Home Warranty for yourself.  On the day you list the property you can get a home warranty that will actually cover many of the unexpected repairs that can some up during the listing period and right up until the day of closing.  It then extends over to the buyer after closing.  It could be a real cost saver if something happens while the home is listed or in escrow. Again, good ol' Murphy can create all kinds of problems for us.  

I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Weekend, but don't forget to remember our Comrades in Arms. That is after all the reason for the Holiday, so in between those burgers and hotdogs and celebrations, keep our fighting men and women in your hearts and say a prayer that they are safe and that one day we will have peace.

Thanks for reading, until next time....!

Sandra Paulow, Associate Broker, GRI, SFR, REALTOR®

(928) 242-0300 or email me at: sandra.paulow@russlyon.com

From Contract to Closing, "Experience" makes a Difference