Inspection and the Final Walk-through for real estate purchases in Nova Scotia: Bring it up on or before closing day or forever hold your peace.

One major piece of the picture when buying your home in Nova Scotia is inspecting the property to decide

A) what issues there are and

B) how they will be addressed prior to closing OR if you are willing to live with them.

Professional House Inspection

One of the first steps after you have signed an agreement of purchase and sale fin Nova Scotia is a home inspection. It is always a good idea to use a professional home inspector come in and do an inspection of the home you are considering buying. Their job is to flag any issues that may change your mind about purchasing the property, or the price you are willing to pay for it.  The inspection is the opportunity to raise issues that will need to be addressed. As a result there may be further negotiations with the seller to either take care of the issue prior to closing, or sell at a lower price so you will have the money to fix it. You should look for an inspector that has both liability AND errors and omissions insurance. This protects you not only from any damage they might cause while on the property to do the inspection, but also provides you with possible recourse if they miss something important on the inspection.

Pre-closing Final walk-through

Your final job prior to closing is the final walk-through or pre-closing inspection. In Nova Scotia, this usually happens on closing day or perhaps the day before. This is your chance to go through the house and poke and prod looking for any new issues. It is also when you get to confirm that anything you agreed would be fixed or installed as a result of the inspection is done to your satisfaction. It is important that you take the time to do this thoroughly. A few things you may want to take the time to do in order to avoid being surprised by an issue after closing are:

·         Test appliances

·         Turn on heating/ AC

·         Open and close doors and windows

·         Check that all of the items the sellers agreed to leave in the home are there. (Mirrors, light fixtures, window dressings etc.)

·         You want to pay particular attention to areas that would have been covered by the previous owners' belongings when you viewed the home, and keep an eye out for damage caused by moving out. (Evidence of water damage, Holes in walls, damage to flooring).

·         You may also want to consider whether or not the house has been left in a reasonable state of cleanliness, and that there is no garbage and unwanted items left behind.

If you have not spotted an issue and one comes up after closing day, it can be much harder to negotiate any compensation for repairs etc., as the seller is no longer under any obligation to you after closing for anything short of very major issues.

Moving Forward:
There are a lot of things to consider when you decide to buy a home, sometimes it can be overwhelming.  If you have any questions about making this decision we offer a flat fee consultation service. You can come to chat and ask questions. We'll give you some advice about your options and what your next steps might be. There is no commitment after the consult. If you have decided to go ahead with a purchase, and wish to retain us we would love to work with you. You can find our information at : www.highlanderlaw.ca.

If you have any questions about the final walk-through or inspection you can call us at (902) 826-3070 or email us at info@highlanderlaw.ca to set up a meeting with one of our lawyers at our Tantallon law firm. You can also schedule a no commitment Issue Review Consult for $250+HST where you have the opportunity to explain your situation to a lawyer and get basic advice before deciding whether or not you'd like to retain us.  

By: Briana C. O'Grady, J.D. – Associate Lawyer

The information and materials on this blog are provided for general informational purposes only and are not intended to be legal advice. Nothing contained on this blog is legal advice or constitutes a legal opinion. While it is our goal to provide information which is current, legislative changes and court decisions, among other matters, may result in some information no longer being current or accurate. You should consult a lawyer before relying on any information. The views expressed herein by individual contributing lawyers posting entries to the blog are solely those of the authors and should not necessarily be attributed to or considered representative of the firm of Highlander Law Group Lawyers