Posted by: Nick Fundytus
Question of the week:
When requesting home inspection can a buyer ask to pull up some of the carpet to see what is underneath?
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As the subject line asks – is that allowed during a home inspection? When putting in an offer can the buyer add ;pull up bit of carpet inspection’ as a required part of the home inspection?
Additionally, can a buyer put in other unusual requirements like ‘must leave a funny green hat on the floor when vacating’ ‘must put googly eyes on refrigerator door’ etc?
Nick Answers Reddit
Every week, Nick answers a Redditor’s question about buying, selling, renting, investing or living in Ottawa. This week’s question is about whether it’s okay to dump a Realtor that’s not getting the job done in a Redditor’s purchase search.
Nick's Response
The Buyer can ask pretty much anything, but you’re under no obligation to do so as the Seller. That said, of course it’s worth weighing the inconvenience of the request against the possible upside. In this case, the upside is the feeling of cooperation between Buyer and Seller that makes it more likely that conditions will be fulfilled.
It’s never okay for a Buyer, their Realtor or inspector to do something invasive without permission. One of the other comments mentioned a Buyer that drilled a hole during an inspection, and someone on the Buyer’s side should be getting a bill for that in most situations.
Specifically to the carpet question, if the house has central heating (and therefore ductwork), it’s generally pretty easy to lift up a floor vent cover during inspection and lift up a bit of carpet there without doing any damage. That will tell a Buyer whether there’s hardwood under the carpet (a pretty common question) and if that hardwood has been refinished before (the central groove of the hardwood isn’t centered any longer). There are a few other hacks like this that Buyers can use to get information non-invasively or spot red flags prior to paying for an inspection.
Source: I’m a Realtor in Ottawa, Ontario
3 Quick Showing Hacks for Buyers
1
Bring a marble to showings. It’s great for telling you which way a floor slopes.
2
Many types of windows have stamps on the inside between the two glass panes showing you the manufacture date, giving you a rough idea of when they were probably installed.
3
A small outlet tester (available in most hardware stores for under $20) will tell you if outlets are properly grounded.
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