QUESTION

Does seller have right to buyer inspection

Asked on Jul 03rd, 2013 on Real Estate - Ohio
More details to this question:
N/A
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1 ANSWER

I am assuming a few things to answer your question.  My assumptions are that you are asking about a residential sale, that the buyer has obtained a real estate inspection that has derogatory information that the buyer, either you or the other party, are trying to use the report to either lower the purchase price or cancel the transaction. First, the report belongs to the one who purchased it.  That sounds simple enough, but if the buyer purchased it and wants to use it to exercise a right under the purchase agreement to cancel the contract (it is that threat that gets the seller to negotiate a lower price), the buyer has to share it with the seller.  I suppose that there COULD be a purchase agreement that says that the buyer can get an inspection and based on the inspection cancel the agreement, but what that is saying is that they had the right to cancel on a whim.  Usually, the agreements provide that the buyer has to provide some proof that there is a problem with the property, not just keep it a secret and claim that there is an issue. Whether you are the buyer or the seller, This is a little bit of a tricky area that could result in some real damages if you don't do it right.  As an example, if you are the buyer and cancel the purchase agreement without cause, the seller can sell the house to another party and can possibly charge you with any extra costs that they have in maintaining the property during the time that the house remains unsold and possibly charge you with the difference in the sale price, if they were to sell it at a lower price later.  Many buyers and sellers think that if the buyer breaches the contract that the seller gets to keep the earnest money deposit and that is the limit of liability of the buyer. This is generally not true. Generally, the seller has to prove their damages and can deduct them from the earnest money deposit (that usually takes court action unless there is agreement between the buyer and the seller). If there is money left over after that the deduction, the buyer should get a refund of the amount left. If the damages are more than the deposit, the seller can pursue the buyer for the extra. Real estate transactions are all be governed by the contracts.  You should really consider hiring an attorney to review your contract and properly advise you, far better than anyone could do here with the limited amount of information that we are given.  It shouldn't cost you very much to get a good answer based on more than a guess at the facts and the contract.  
Answered on Jul 03rd, 2013 at 3:46 PM

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