Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill14564
What are you asking the buyers to do? Someone from out of the area is presented with an acceptable inspection report and a completed title search as part of a large stack of papers to sign. They don't know the area, they don't know what a CDD is or how they are put together, they don't know about ARC, they don't know about Community Standards, and they don't know about the complaint process. To me, it is asking too much of them to know to read the deed restrictions in detail and research what has or has not been approved for their house.
What I would like to see:
- Prior to closing, realtors advise buyers of the deed restrictions and the need to ensure there are no violations on the property they are purchasing
- Home inspections include a section covering deed compliance for the particular District
- Community Standards review the exterior of homes being sold and alert the seller, buyer, and realtor of any compliance issues
- Anything that exists when the home is sold is grandfathered as if approved and not subject to a complaint in the future.
Yes, there are problems with this, but it seems more reasonable than asking an unsuspecting buyer to do in-depth research or ask an owner to spend thousands to fix a violation that was present when they purchased the home 20 years ago.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by retiredguy123
Doesn't your 4th item negate the need for the other 3? And, I think Item 1 already exists, and also, Item 2 to some extent. A good home inspector should cover these items. I think a Community Standards inspection is a good idea, but it is contrary to the current, complaint driven system, and would also be expensive.
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Item 4: I meant my fourth item to be the final word in case 1-3 did not happen. Perhaps it should state something to the effect that any compliance issues not documented in the sale are grandfathered. Community Standards gets their shot at the time of sale to list compliance issues, they don't get to come back 20 years later.
Item 1: I am sure I was told what the Declaration of Restrictions was and I am sure it was explained in about one minute. What was not made clear was that the deed compliance process was complaint driven and there could currently be violations on my property that had not *yet* been complained about. I do not believe I was provided with the restrictions before the date of closing and I am sure I was not advised to perform my own inspection to determine if there were any non-approved changes. But even if I had been, I would not know where to start to determine what had or had not been previously approved for my property.
Item 2: "A
good home inspector
should cover these items."(emphasis added) Perhaps I did not have a good home inspection because under General Inspection Limitations I see:
CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS - Building codes and construction standards vary regionally. A standard home inspection does not include evaluation of a property for compliance with building or health codes, zoning regulations or other local codes or ordinances. No assessments are made regarding acceptability or approval of any element or component by any agency, or compliance with any specific code or standard. Codes are revised on a periodic basis; consequently, existing structures generally do not meet current code standards, nor is such compliance usually required. Any questions regarding code compliance should be addressed to the appropriate local officials.
This is why Item 3 is important.
Item 3: The Community Standards inspection or review would only come into play as a house was changing hands; It would not replace the complaint-driven process. Everyone would benefit from this: the buyer would be protected, the neighborhood would be rid of any existing violations on that property, and it would reduce the need to exercise "the process" in the future. It shouldn't be too expensive on an individual basis and might be offered as optional with the added benefit of the grandfathering if the inspection was accepted. Plus, it could open employment opportunities for clipboard ladies
Just my thoughts. There certainly could be problems with implementation. But there are problems today with owners being surprised with notices of violations after owning the home for years.