New Home Inspection Requirement in Belmont, CA Squashed

Leaders of Belmont City rejected a proposal that will force homeowners to shell out considerable money for home inspection and other requirements before their homes are sold. The said regulation was actually proposed by the members of the community development department.

According to the proposal, owners of condominiums, duplexes and of single-family units will be required to complete an application form immediately after putting up their house for sale. They are then required to submit the form within five days together with a fee of $300.

After the receipt of the application, the homeowners will have to agree to a home inspection and make necessary repairs if any building code violations have been found before being permitted to sell the property.

A professional house inspection is usually requested by the buyer in order to check for defects in the physical structure of the home they are interested in buying. Some sellers also order a home inspection if they would like to speed up the home sales transaction.

The inspection report usually becomes the basis for the disclosure statement that sellers provide buyers.

For the proponents of the proposed regulation, their objective is to improve safety especially considering the number of old homes as well as boost buyer confidence.

Unfortunately, homeowners and even realtors do not consider the proposal to be such a good idea. They opposed it saying that they are already having a hard time selling their homes considering the tough housing market condition in the state.

Florida remains one of the states hardest hit by the mess in the mortgage industry and is currently dealing with a large inventory of unsold homes that include foreclosures and new houses.

Although city leaders have squashed the proposal, they also accepted the fact that they need to address issues concerning the aging homes in the area. ]

In the meantime, they have decided to conduct home inspection of the exterior part of the house or areas which are immediately visible.