Strict Home Inspection Regulation; An Advantage For Home Buyers
There has been a recent enactment of a Home Inspection Act 2017 by the Ontario Government. This Act introduces basic and tougher standards for home inspection regulation, home inspection contracts and reports, disclosures, and how to carry out such home inspections.
The act requires professionals to have license and be insured before conducting a home inspection in Ontario, Government. It also provides that there must be written contracts, which must be signed with the owners of the inspected properties and written reports which must be delivered after the home inspection.
According to Dan Steward, president and CEO of Toronto-based firm Pillar To Post Home Inspectors, “This is a crucial, necessary step. Can you imagine finding out that your dentist took a one day course in dentistry? Your home is your single biggest investment so you absolutely have to protect it with a thorough home inspection before putting down your hard earned money.”
He also stated; “It’s crucial to have the inspection before you buy, but with the current situation we see many would-be homeowners bypassing the inspection process and foregoing the contingency so they don’t lose the home to another bidder.”
Graham Clarke, Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors President commented that the legislation will hopefully pave a way towards a higher emphasis on inspections as an important part in buying and selling of homes.
He said, “Missing major items can cause a lot of issues. This is such an important issue at the moment in so many Canadian markets that we are emphasizing special offers to realtors to have one of our home inspectors come out to the new homeowner right after closing. If they find problems early enough, repairs can be, hopefully limited to a minimum.”
“With such a supply and demand issue, it is a real dilemma for realtors as well. They want to protect their buyer clients from making a huge mistake which could mean thousands of dollars in repairs later down the road, but they also don’t want to lose the insistent client. They can only do their best to assert their warning on the dangers of buying without a home inspection,” Clarke concluded.
