Waiving Lead-Based Inspection on Investment Property?

[Hector Lewis]

Hello,

I am in the process of making an offer on an investment property in Detroit.  This is my first property in the Detroit area.  On the offer, the real estate agent wanted to waive the Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Inspection.  This is an older house that was built in 1948 there is a good chance it has lead paint.  He stated that on the majority of offers on investment properties, the person making the offer rarely pay for the inspection to be done. 

I know that if I move forward and buy this property I can get Lead Paint Certified but how costly is that.

What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks,

Hector

[Scott M.]

Yes, it is 100% common to waive the lead paint inspection. Not common to waive the lead paint disclosure but I think that is a typo in your post.

We have done thousands and thousands of purchase/sales of homes in Metro Detroit and I can’t think of 1 time this wasn’t waived.

If you get the COC (certificate of compliance) on this home after you buy it you will have to pass a lead clearance test that your local manager should be able to help you through.

The cost for the inspection ranges from $400-700 on average for a single family home. All depends on the SQFT. You get some results back right away and others in a few weeks as samples are sent to a lab.

That cost is generally good for 1 inspection and not the reinspection and does not include the cost of lead paint remediation if any is found. There is no doubt your home has it, the question is how deep is it buried.

We have had this done on hundreds of homes, if you have any other questions about it, feel free to DM me.

PS, next time work with an agent that knows this stuff : )