I am a first time homebuyer. I have found a house that is approximately 35 years old, and plan to submit a contract shortly. I have been talking to my realtor about the need for a home inspection and she has not been very supportive of this. She has suggested that if I make the contract contingent upon my obtaining a home inspection, the seller may balk at signing the contract. What do you suggest?

Unless you are a professional contractor, you definitely need to retain the services of a competent home inspector. Your contract must be contingent on your obtaining a satisfactory inspection. This means that you will have X number of days (the number to be spelled out in the sales contract) to have the property inspected. If you are dissatisfied for any reason, you have the absolute right to terminate the contract and get your earnest money deposit refunded. In fact, many buyers give the deposit check to the broker, but add language in the sales contract that the check will not be deposited until the inspection contingency has been removed. There are two kinds of inspection contingencies; general inspection: here, if the buyer is dissatisfied with the inspection for any reason — in his or her sole discretion — the buyer may declare the contract null and void, specific inspection: under this arrangement, the buyer must provide the seller with a list of specific repairs to be made. The seller has a fixed number of days in which to respond. Let’s take this example: you list 8 items for consideration by the seller. The seller comes back in a timely manner and agrees to repair 6 of the problems, but not all of them. You then have a fixed number of days in which to either accept what the seller has proposed, continue negotiations for the remaining two items, or terminate the contract.

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