I do feel, however, that only one side of the issue is being addressed. As the real estate regulations are presently written, the onus is on the homebuyer to ensure the property is problem-free and worthy of the money that he or she is bidding on it. In the current real estate market boom the buyer is lucky if he gets the chance to get a proper home inspection done, let alone check the competency of the home inspector. A lot of buyers try to put a bid on a house subject to inspection. These bids are usually thrown away by the seller who has plenty of bids that are unfettered by such provisions. In fact, many real estate agents will advise the buyers not to put such a provision on the offer to buy. Such a provision to inspect will usually result in the buyer not being considered.
Would it not make more sense to put the onus on the seller to get an independent home inspection done by a certified home inspector before he can put his house on the market? After all, the purchase of a home is probably, if not certainly, the biggest investment a person will make in his lifetime. Surely it is much too big a purchase to go into blindly, hoping that the home you buy turns out to be a dream, rather than a nightmare. I'm speaking from personal experience.
My son and his girlfriend bought a home in Windsor Park which on the face of it, seemed like a nice home. He found out that when the snow melted the water poured into his basement from a massive crack in the foundation. This crack had been covered up with panelling so it could not be seen with a cursory inspection. He was advised that he would not be able to prove that the previous owners had known about the crack so he was stuck with an expensive repair.
I'm hoping that the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors is working towards not just standardizing the credentials of home inspectors but getting the onus for the protection of the homebuyer put where it properly belongs.
-- John Triggs, e-mail
Answer -- The background you provide to your interesting question quite accurately describes the current situation with offers to purchase homes in Winnipeg. I am surprised that I don't hear more stories or receive numerous e-mails about predicaments similar to those faced by your son, but perhaps your question may change that. I will offer some discussion points about the benefits and challenges with what I call "pre-listing inspections," while addressing the problems homebuyers face in this hot market.
You are absolutely correct that the current trend to make offers free of conditions is the norm rather than the exception in our area. This is a fairly recent phenomenon, which is not unprecedented in other cities, but is now rather unique in the very high frequency seen here. The rationale is that buyers are being encouraged to make offers to purchase homes as attractive as possible to the sellers. An offer free of conditions with a purchase price above the listing price, sometimes substantially above the price, is thought to be optimal when there are several buyers interested in that property.
While ensuring the seller receives top dollar for their home, with minimal hassles, this does little to protect the buyers. To compound the lack of proper inspections by the purchaser, many offers are made after only a single, very cursory look at the home by the potential buyers. For this reason it is not surprising that your son and many other buyers are finding many issues after possession.
As you correctly state, because of the laws relating to real estate transactions in this country, with the possible exception of Quebec, the onus is on the purchaser to complete their due diligence in relation to the condition of a property prior to closing. There are some provisions for homeowners and others involved in the transactions to disclose any known defects in the property, but it can be tough to prove that this was the case when major problems are found after possession. The only real protection for the purchaser is to include and exercise a condition for a satisfactory inspection by a CAHPI inspector. If this option is not taken by the buyer, willingly or not, they are solely responsible for the inspection of the home, often done in a quick walk-through prior to making an offer.
Your suggestion of the homeowner being responsible for a pre-listing inspection by a CAHPI inspector seems like a good solution, but it has its concerns, as well. Your argument has been posed to me by several people with relation to what is done when a car changes hands in Manitoba. In that case, the onus is on the seller to provide a certificate stating that the vehicle has been inspected for various safety concerns. The difference there is that a safety inspection on a vehicle is only concerned with a number of safety-related issues and is not comprehensive. It does not include condition of the engine, transmission, and other significant items but simply ensures that the vehicle has the requisite safety features, in satisfactory condition, to make it roadworthy. In contrast, a proper home inspection will include evaluation of not only safety issues, but also the condition and operation of all major structural and mechanical components in the home. While there are accepted standards of practice for home inspections, which outlines what is inspected, there are many different reporting systems and methods of evaluation for the various house components used by different inspectors. There are also other legal considerations for pre-sale inspections on homes, but we will not deal with those here.
Before your idea of requiring pre-sale inspections by vendors becomes common practice, there would have to be development of a standardized inspection report, training, and licensing or certification of pre-sale inspectors by government-approved agencies. So far, provincial governments have been reluctant to get involved in licensing of home inspectors at all, but CAHPI has been at the forefront of working toward these and other goals for increased consumer protection for homebuyers.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the president of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors - Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be e-mailed or sent to: Ask The Inspector, P. O. Box 69021, #110-2025 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg, MB. R3P 2G9. Ari can be reached at (204) 291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
