The Five Biggest Reasons Marin County Escrows Fall Apart
Reason No. 3 : Pest Inspections
Always get a pest inspection, no ifs, ands, or buts. If you’re going to spend serious six figures on a property in Marin County, spend the extra $400 or so on a pest inspection also.
Homes in Marin County tend to be older, and the climate seems to foster a number of pests that if not taken care of, can be big trouble for your home.
Whether it’s dry rot, beetles, or termites, they’re all trouble. And depending on how long the problem has been going on, and what is causing it, the solutions range from simple and inexpensive (remove some wood debris from underneath the house) to major.
How major? I recently received the largest pest inspection I’ve ever seen: the estimate to repair the damage was $187,000. That’s massive. The buyer took it in stride, as we had looked pretty closely before writing an offer and realized there were major issues. This helped put a number to it, and helped my client decide if they really wanted to take the house “as is.”
Differences of opinion however, are often deal breakers. Often the seller gets a report before the home goes on market, to help protect the price. I was in a transaction earlier this year where the seller pest report said, “the deck would eventually need replacement.” Our pest inspector said it was a safety issue, and needed to be replaced now, at a cost of $40,000.
We asked for a credit. After a very tense four days or so, we finally reached an agreement everyone could live with, but it was very difficult - after all, the Seller’s expert said there was no problem.
That’s why they’re deal breakers. People don’t always understand them, what they mean, or how to solve them, but pest problems cause lots of lost sleep for realtors, sellers, and buyers.
Next: Reason #4: Easements
