Speaking again from my recent experience as the seller of a house in Minneapolis, my realtor told me that most buyers hire their own inspectors, and the sale is contingent upon what their inspector finds. If there are major problems the Purchase Agreement is null and void. This has been the case with everyone I know who has sold recently and was the case with me. I know of only 1 buyer who did not hire an inspector and she was sorry for it afterwards (the house was in Richfield, not Mpls., though). She had her father, a retired contractor, look at it, and he didn't check out the roof, which turned out to be shot, also she has got mice like crazy (the previous owners had two cats).
I used my own inspector when I bought my current house in Burnsville -- where the Truth in Housing law is not nearly as burdensome as Minneapolis' is, and although nothing major was found I was glad to have the reassurance. It costs about $300 for the average house (fees are based on square footage and type of dwelling). When I bought the house in Minneapolis, in 1983, the use of a private inspector was almost unheard of. Now it is common practice and has spawned a whole new industry. I think the law has its good points, as I said in my previous response to Tim. The good thing about it is that major hazards must be fixed when the house changes hands and this is enforced by city inspection. It keeps the housing stock from deteriorating, as was the case prior to the law. What's wrong with the law is that it requires numerous "repairs" that are not safety related, some of which are merely cosmetic, or "nice to haves" as opposed to "need to have". If the law could be modified to apply to only major safety hazards I think it would do its job and not be so burdensome. Barbara L. Nelson Burnsville, formerly Seward for 18 years _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
