This Ontario couple bought a house without a home inspection — and it was a disaster. 'We kept saying that the house just needed cosmetic things and it had good bones. Turns out it didn’t have good bones.'
Meaghan Darrach’s search for a new home in the summer of 2021 could only be described as “chaos.”
“We’re fortunate that a lot of our friends work in the trades, so we thought whatever the issue is, we can figure it out. We kept saying that the house just needed cosmetic things and it had good bones. Turns out it didn’t have good bones,” she said. “These conditions protect the buyer if they can’t obtain financing or the inspection reveals costly repairs. In these cases, the buyer can back out of the sale without penalty. Waiving these conditions makes an offer more attractive to the seller and might give the buyer an advantage over their competitors, but it could mean the buyer is in for a nasty surprise after they move in.”
While many sellers do a pre-list home inspection before putting a house on the market, that shouldn’t replace a buyer’s own inspection, she said. If this document exists, and the seller didn’t list the defect, then a buyer might be able to take legal action. However, the buyer would have to prove that the seller knew about the issue, which can be difficult, Kaye says.
The same goes for condos, says Morrison. “Most condos don’t need a home inspector,” she says. However, inspectors can be useful to advise condo buyers of any Kitec plumbing, which should be removed since it can lead to water leaking and subsequent damage, she said. If Kitec plumbing is found, it’s going to be part of your negotiation to figure out who is going to pay for its replacement, she added.