In times like these, the last thing any of us need is a bad home inspection. Many of you have labored long and hard to find the right home for your Buyer, negotiated the purchase price and other terms, made arrangements for financing,perhaps even had your Buyer engage an attorney for assistance with the sale agreement, only to see the results of the home inspection reveal substantial problems with the home.

I want to inform each of you that when I am representing a Buyer, the first thing I tell the Buyer is “the home inspection is not a second opportunity to negotiate the amount of the purchase price.” In most instances, the Buyer is purchasing a “used home”, and used homes probably do not have the most efficient electrical wiring or most modern air-conditioning system. There are certain negative aspects of the home inspection which must be accepted by either the Seller agreeing to rectify same, or a manageable closing cost credit.

What I am addressing here is a substantial in inspection problem. A material crack in the foundation, a roof that maybe has no more than six (6) months of useful life, a health and safety issue such as asbestos insulation being present. These types of inspection issues are material, and the Buyer is well within its rights to walk away when they present themselves.

The point of this post is to suggest that you still may be able to do your deal, if you use the inspection report wisely. The Seller wants to sell the home; the Seller has entered into an agreement indicating same. The Buyer may be willing to go further is major price concessions are given. I have worked on several deals the past year where the Seller made large price concessions once the home inspection was completed.

In Massachusetts, where I practice law, the Seller, and the Seller’s agents are generally not liable for defects in the home of which they are not aware. Once an inspection reports indicates major problems, the liability issue changes. The Seller now knows that there is a major problem, and that problem will need to be disclosed to every potential Buyer. Perhaps, you can convince the Seller to deal with your Buyer. This is a person who might be willing to go forward and complete the purchase, if the terms are sweetened to address the problem. In the situations like this where I have been involved, I have urged the Buyer’s Agent to present the Buyer as “the devil you know”. As I have indicated, this strategy has worked for my Buyers on several occasions in 2009, and I urge you to consider using it in 2010.