Real Estate Investor · Gainesville · Member since 2009 · 47 posts · 2 votes
Do 'you' have to do these for the purchase of an REO?
Or if they pre-exist, is that acceptable? I'd like to get a simple walk-through inspection, but have no wish to spend on anything that is not truly required. What do you do?
Non required if paying cash ... if getting a loan, then appraisal required. I always do an inspection - well worth the $$$ ... a few hundred dollar inspection could save you from losing many, many thousands of dollars.
Like Ted says, and appraisal is required by the lender, if there's one involved.
I've paid for inspections on most of the houses I've bought. But it depends on your skills and knowledge. I've generally been unimpressed with most of the inspections that point out a bunch of obvious stuff but miss major items.
Survey's are rarely necessary inside cities. I've done this on one place I bought but it was several acres in a country setting and there was a obvious encroachment that I wanted to settle before closing the deal. In our area, ILCs (Improvement Location Certificates) are sometimes required. Those are sort of "mini surveys" that don't actually shoot anything but just look at fences and roads and draw a plat. That can be required by the title company or by a lender.