Selling Your Home with Code Violations
Many homeowners — looking to take advantage of the prevalent seller’s market — are putting their homes up for sale all across the country. According to HomeLight’s Spring 2021 survey, 93% of top realtors all across the nation claimed home prices are on the rise in their market, so there couldn’t be a better time to sell.
While homeowners who put their home up for sale now will be overwhelmingly favored in their market, there’s one factor that may drive a wedge in your endeavours: code violations.
While code violations may seem like a daunting problem, especially for those trying to sell for a high price, dealing with these may not be as difficult as it seems, especially with the help of trusted legal professionals at Enterprise Esquire.
How to understand code violations
Building codes are imperative to ensure public health, general welfare, and overall safety, so always take them seriously — even when the violations seem rather minor to the untrained eye.
Rules for code violations change frequently, so it’s important to keep up-to-date with the restrictions. While you may have bought your home with zero code violations, the rules change quite frequently, so it’s important to stay up-to-date with your city’s current code violations.
Common violations that homeowners face during the sale process include:
Incorrectly placed smoke alarms or no smoke/carbon monoxide alarms at all
Handrails that don’t turn and end into a wall in order to prevent snagging
Missing or defective ground-fault circuit interrupter protections on kitchen, bathroom, garage, and outdoor circuits or outlets
Bathroom exhaust fans that vent into an attic instead of outside
Missing or improper deck flashing
Not only will these issues impact your sale, but you also may face city fines for code violations that can increase on a daily basis. Once you’ve identified the problem, you’ll want to act quickly. Remember, while code violations may seem minor, failure to properly disclose these to your buyers may make you liable for a lawsuit in the future. The good news? There’s plenty of easy solutions to still press forward with your sale even with code violations.
Your options for selling your home once you’ve found code violations
If you can find the funds to hire an expert to solve your problem, that’s always the best route to take. However, depending on the code violations, owners don’t always have the savings to fix their problem before selling their home.
If you’re not financially able to make such repairs, you can offer a credit at closing or sell your house ‘as is’ for a lower price. Remember, always disclose this information up-front to your potential buyers in order to save yourself legal trouble in the future.
Another option is to sell your home ‘as is’ to a cash buyer. If your top priority is to sell your home at the highest price possible — like most home sellers — then this may be the best option for you. Institutional investors, house flippers, or digital-age startups are often in the market for homes, and you’ll find a generous offer on your home from these types of buyers.
If you want to discuss your options when selling your home with or without code violations, schedule a FREE consult at www.EnterpriseEsquire.com/calendar. The Law Office of Alexis Hart McDowell is here to help you sell for top dollar.
