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There is most likely a paragraph in your purchase contract called a Termination Option. This is the mechanism by which you would be able to renegotiate the terms of your contract after you have the property inspected.
The term option, refers to your unrestricted right, or option, to terminate the contract within a specific amount of time. You can use this right to terminate as leverage to get the seller to make some concessions to you as a result of property deficiencies discovered during the inspection. Used correctly, you will be refunded your earnest money deposit.
While there is no obligation on the part of the seller to make changes to the contract, in order to prevent you from exercising your option to terminate, the seller will typically provide some additional concessions to you. These concessions could include:
making repairs to some, or all, of the deficient items noted on the inspection report,
giving you a repair allowance so you can make the repairs once you move into the property, or
reducing the sales price of the home.
There are two critical components of an option period; the absence of either would eliminate your ability to exercise your option to terminate. First of all, there must be some consideration offered by the buyer. You are purchasing the right to back out of the contract. You will find $100 to be a common option fee. There is also the duty of a timely submission of the option fee to the seller. This is commonly 48 hours from the time the contract is executed.
Second, there must be a time limitation to the option period. This should be enough time to get an inspection, and quotes from your contractor, but not so much time to cause undue hardship to the seller, should you choose not to pursue the purchase. You will find 10 days to be a common option period. NOTE: Many buyers fail to get the seller to sign a repair amendment, or send over a notice of termination, before the option period expires. If this happens the seller has no obligation to make any concessions to the buyer. If the buyer tries to back out of the contract at that point, he may lose his earnest money, or be sued for specific performance.
Please note that the author is in Texas, and real estate contracts differ somewhat from State to State. Check with a local Real Estate professional for the best way to handle it in your area.
In many cases, you can try. If the inspection revealed details about the house that were not known to you before hand (especially major things like systemic repairs), the seller may or may not negotiate with you – usually (BUT NOT ALWAYS), if the house is not in the shape you thought it was, you have the right to back out of the transaction if you cant agree on a new price.
Look closely at the offer you signed, and consult with your real estate agent to be sure – if the seller expressly forbid renegotiation (such as in an auction situation, or with some bank-owned properties), you may have to assess your options differently. Read the inspection portion carefully – this should be specifically addressed in the paperwork.
If you have an attorney representing you for this purchase (and I always recommend that you do), this is where he or she comes in handy.
Absolutely, if the inspection comes up with something specific or not does not even matter. After you have done the investigation of the property, you don’t need a “because” to reopen negotiation of the purchase price. If after having it inspected and having your lawyer examining the documents, you change your estimation of the value of the home, you are under no obligation to pay the price in the offer. These offers are intentionally “swiss cheese” for the sake of consumer protection. Basically you can just change your mind and say “never mind”! In Massachusetts the earnest money is only $1000 at this point and in 8 years I have never seen anyone losing their deposit. Even when my buyers were rude and wasted the sellers time without apology, they got their $1000 deposit back.
Can you renegociate the price of the house after inspection?