A version of this blog appeared on Cityhousecountryhouse.com on 10/16/18.
Does your Village or Town require an Inspection before a sale?
Most people have heard about hiring a Home Inspector when purchasing a house. Did you know that some towns and villages require a city official to inspect your house also?
When we sold our house, we had to have a village official come out to inspect the house before we could sell. There were several things that did not meet village code because of changes to the code since the time the house was purchased.
For example, there was a cracked sidewalk tile in front of our house. We had to pay to replace the tile even though the work would be done after we moved. We also had to negotiate with the buyers of our house as to what we would fix and what would be their responsibility.
Don't be surprised by potential fees
On top of the repairs to bring the house to code, we also had to pay an inspection fee and be sure our water bill was paid. Check this list from Illinois Realtors to see if your town is listed:
https://www.illinoisrealtors.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Inspections.pdf
Always double check with your town or village because codes changes and you don’t want to wait until the last minute to be sure there are no special requirements before selling your home.
Inspection vs Transfer Fee Stamps
Village inspection fees range from free to over $200. The higher end fees tend to replace “transfer tax stamps”.
Some villages combine their inspections with transfer stamps. For example, in North Riverside does not use Transfer stamps. They use a “Pre-Sale Inspection of the home”. According to their website:
Always do your homework when researching places to live
Learn about a town's ordinances too
As a buyer, research towns where you would like to live before you start looking at homes. Find out if they have inspections, transfer stamps or even regulations like no fences allowed. Depending on the costs of repairs, a seller may try to negotiate sharing the expenses.
As a seller, you might be responsible to schedule an inspection. It’s important to know about potential costs ahead of time and what they will be inspecting (inside, outside, etc). You might even be able to make changes/repairs to your home to satisfy the inspection before your home goes on the market.