You have 7 days period... that is what the contract says. After 9pm on the 7th day your contingency expires. If you read the section that explains "time is of the essence" it also explains the counting of days in any contingency.

Tue Apr 22 2008, 12:02

James, you read all the comments and I hope you have a better understanding on the process! I can reiterate –

Buyer asks the seller to give me X days to inspect the house and make sure house is safe and sound. (i.e. 7 Days Home Inspection contingency)

Buyer has 7 calendar days to inspect the property from date of Contract Ratification Date. By 9pm of 7 day, they must notify the Seller about result of home inspection. If they need more time, they may request additional time by submitting a General Addendum to the Sellers and Listing Agent, and ask for more time! (must be in writing)

If buyer requests the seller to perform any repairs or modifications, seller has 3 calendar days to respond to buyers request either by agreeing to the terms, rejecting, or negotiating.

If the Seller and Buyer agree on the repairs, then seller has until settlement day to perform the repairs that specified and agreed on the Home Inspection Notice form signed by the seller and buyer.

Cheers,

Reza Khodadad
Real Estate Consultant

Mon Mar 17 2008, 08:05

My home inspection had a 15 day agreement. We had to have the homeinspection and the addendum in by the end of the 15th day. Check with your real estate agent. Also be advised that after you put in the addendum and the seller responds you only have 48 hours to accept what they offer or walk away, otherwise you're stuck purchasing the property.

Sun Mar 16 2008, 16:14

Depending on what Home Inspection addendum you are using, it will have it outlined. Usually the home inspection is done within the time period specified AND the buyers submit their Home Inspection Notice to the sellers (ask for repairs). The Home Inspection notice should outline the time line for the counter offers too.

As a buyers agent you need to be conscious of the number of days that need to complete this task to include weekends and holidays.

The buyer should be at the home inspection evaluating their concerns for a quick response. Time is of the essence.

Sun Mar 16 2008, 15:50

James, I believe you work in Germantown, MD and as Kim said below, the MAR Home Inspection Addendum will spell everything out for you. If the Home Inspection was only giving 7 days to complete, there should still be a clause that states how long from the receipt of the Home Inspection Results the Buyer has to give written notice to the Seller of any dissatisfaction with the report, ie; Within Five (5) calendar days from the receipt of the home inspection report, give written notice to Seller of Buyer's dissatisfaction and shall itemize the condition(s) disclosed in the inspection report(s) which are not satisfactory to Buyer. If Buyer fails to notify Seller within such time period, Buyer shall be deemed to have accepted the inspection report(s), and Buyer shall have no right thereafter to terminate the Contract pursuant to the provisions of this Addendum.

Hope this helps and good luck on your transaction!

Sun Mar 16 2008, 15:32

I work in Anne Arundel County, so I am not sure exactly what your home inspection addendum says but it is very common for us to use 10 days, which includes the inspection and response. We also have a paragraph in the Maryland contract that tells you how to calculate time.
Kim Mills

Sun Mar 16 2008, 14:20

Generally the deadline will be whatever your contract says.
Based on your question, if you're at day 6, you have one more day to deal with this.
Each state is different and you need to know the local contract law and rules to understand what 'day 7' means (end of day, 5pm, midnight etc).
why would a buyer have an additional 48 or 72 hours to get the details following an inspection if the contract says '7 days'?
Unless there's an additional stipulation in the contract that says inspection conducted within 7 days, inspection objection notice no later than 72 hours, you may be outta luck.
Get a legal opinion if you don't understand how the real estate contracts work in your area.

Sun Mar 16 2008, 12:32

Seven days is seven days. That's a pretty short contingency period. I've been told that 17 days is more common.

Sun Mar 16 2008, 12:29