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REALTORS®, more than anyone, know how complicated and fragile the home selling process can be.
Every step of the home selling process, from contract to closing, and everything in between, can complicate and derail a home sale. Introducing another prerequisite – the government home inspection – only serves to increase costs and create more opportunities to disrupt the transaction.
Only a small minority of Illinois municipalities require a government home inspection prior to sale. And unlike state licensed private home inspectors, municipal inspectors have no minimal training or standards requirements, and sellers must correct any violations found by the government inspector. Worse, government inspectors often nitpick over cosmetic rather than life-safety concerns.
For these reasons, the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® (MORe) has teamed up with the Illinois REALTORS®, by way of the Real Property Alliance, to take aim at the Lake County village of Beach Park’s policy requiring an exterior inspection of one’s home prior to sale. The two associations have launched a sophisticated advocacy campaign to take the message directly to Beach Park residents.
Through newspaper advertisements, electronic mail, and social media advertising, Beach Park residents have been directed to www.BeachParkInspections.com where they can learn even more about the issue and send a message to the Beach Park village board encouraging them to end point-of-sale inspections. The campaign has been well received by the public and we are seeing a steady stream of property owners telling their village board to stop interfering with home sales.
“REALTORS® are not saying the village shouldn’t address code violations, but what makes it frustrating is code violations can be addressed at any time of the year by the village as opposed to right when a resident is trying to sell their home,” says Kris Seegren a REALTOR® and Beach Park resident. “I have never seen a municipal inspection make the transaction go smoother; in fact it just adds further points of contention between the parties at a late date in the transaction, sometimes causing sticking points of negotiation right at the closing table.”
