Accepted Offer – Inspection Period

Iao Valley, Maui

Once you have found the property that fits your needs and have submitted an accepted offer, you will come up to your inspection period. The standard inspection period is 14 days. This is the most important time of your purchase. This is when you, as the buyer, need to do your due diligence in inspecting the property so you do not miss any repairs you may want to seek a credit for or have fixed. It is important that I, as your realtor, prepare you a timeline that outlines all the important dates including the start and end date of your inspection period. After the inspection period ends the buyer loses their option to cancel based on the inspection contingency.

Hana, Maui

The right inspection company is critical to your home purchase. You will want to do research on who to use and to get you started you can always contact me for my top 3 inspection companies on Maui. When choosing a company you should ask inspectors for a copy of one of their reports. This will let you know how thorough their company is. You will want to know if they are just checking boxes or taking the time to give a thoughtful response to any issues they see. I believe a good inspection report has a lot of photos, detailed note taking, and mentions of updates that may be necessary to meet up-to-date county requirements.

Mahana Condominium, Maui

Once you’ve chosen your inspection company I would set the appointment. I highly recommend all buyers be present during the inspection so that the inspector can show you any issues he has found or recommendations that he has. This will include any safety or cosmetic issues. You’ll also be able to ask him a few questions after he’s finished. If for some reason you cannot attend the inspection you can request that I be there in your presence.

It usually takes 24 to 48 hours to receive the finalized inspection report. After you receive the report I would ask you to make a list of items you want to be repaired and a list of issues you want a credit for. I will take that list and write up a detailed Repair/Request report. Some examples of things you’d want to see in a Repair/Request report are: the requirement that a licensed contractor be used for repairs, whether the item is to be repaired or replaced, and the use of photos to show exactly what the item is so that there are no mistakes made since time is of the essence.

Noelani Condominium, Maui

Once the report is finished, I submit it to the seller’s agent and we wait for a response. You should be prepared for any type of response and even no response at all. There will be some sellers who want to negotiate further. Once all issues are settled, or not, you will have to decide before your 14 day inspection period runs out whether you want to move forward with your purchase. The last step in assuring the seller has completed all agreed upon repairs is to check them at the final walk-through; typically 5 days prior to close. I always suggest sending the same inspector back to the property who wrote the original report.