Home Buying Guide: 4 Legal Rights You Should Know
Go Back To Previous PagePurchasing a home can be exciting and stressful at the same time. There are many factors involved other than the pricing and the house itself. As with any significant purchase, you as the consumer stand to gain and sometimes lose if you don’t know your rights firsthand. Here, you will find the essential legalities you should know when buying your dream home to ensure that you exercise them well and not get into trouble. We will discuss your Legal Rights when buying a house!
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The legal Right To A Proper Home Inspection
Having an inspection is the most critical Legal Right when buying a home. You can request a home inspection before agreeing to the seller’s price.
Draft a home inspection contingency in the real estate contract that you can
produce after giving an offer. You, as the buyer, have a right to get an inspection done on the home, giving you time to back out or delay the closing if there is no issue in the house.
If the inspector you hired found issues within the home, you can request repairs for the seller to make if they want the sale to proceed. The seller may not want to spend money on fixes. So you might need to counter the house’s price for a lower one.
Some buyers will skip the inspection part to get ahead of the competitors. A hot market shouldn’t deter you from choosing to be cautious. If you’re particularly interested in an older home, an inspection is valued more than ever.
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The legal Right To Be Free From Housing Discrimination.
The Fair Housing Act frees anyone from discriminatory acts prohibiting anyone from purchasing a home.
Landlords and real estate companies, banks, lending institutions, municipalities, and more are accountable if they are unable to make housing available to individuals because of the following:
- Nationality
- Religious beliefs
- Sex
- Disability
- Race or color
- Familial Status
If a person is denied home improvement or mortgage loans due to their status, they can file a case against the seller.
When a pattern or practice of discrimination becomes evident wherein the rights of an individual or a group of people are denied, the government can bring these cases to light.
When a specific demographic cannot get housing through the threat of force, the Department of Justice can begin criminal proceedings against the guilty party.
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The Right Of Exclusion
If you are a buyer, you have the right to specify and choose the people you want to allow into your property and exclude those not authorized. If the individuals you don’t let on the property enter without permission, you can get them arrested for trespassing.
As a landlord, you can also evict tenants you rent when selling the property. But you must also have a proper reason or a just cause for eviction. It will need further research because there are exceptions to the rule. Some laws can negate your right to exclude individuals if it compromises their health and safety.
An example of an exception to this rule is utility companies that need to cross your property to access pipelines and cables. On the other hand, police authorities need a warrant to get permission to search any property.
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Payment Of Real Estate Tax
You have the right to get information on property taxes currently affecting the property. As a buyer, you will likely find that the seller is paying for the property tax and that responsibility will fall to you after closing the deal. That means the buyer and the seller only pay taxes when they own the property.
Suppose the buyer closes the deal and the seller has already paid the annual tax for the real estate taxes, the buyer will reimburse the seller for their
prorated share.
But if the seller has not paid the taxes, you can charge the seller with the prorated share. For example, you can place it in an escrow.
It is the usual arrangement when you’re buying or selling a property. The contract should state that both parties should pay their share of the tax pro-rata.
In Conclusion
Buying a house is not just about looking into what you want, making an offer, and closing the deal. You should also follow laws as a buyer to protect both your and the seller’s interests. The home buying process is not quick, and you must know your Legal Rights when buying a home. You will be spending money, time, and patience dealing with the sellers, the agents, and legal processing that could prolong the process. But as you have much to learn, you should pay attention to getting to the home of your dreams faster.
We hope you enjoyed this blog post and learned your legal rights when buying a house.
Georges has been working in Wall Street for the last 16 years trading derivatives with hedge funds. He has been an active real estate investor for over a decade. Georges graduated from HEC Business School in Paris and holds a master in Finance from ESADE Barcelona.
