Subject removal: how to plan inspection timing

In a contract of purchase and sale in BC, the buyer's conditions are called subjects. A common one is "subject to a satisfactory home inspection". The contract gives a date and time by which the buyer must remove the subject or the deal can end. How long that period is varies a great deal with the market. Some buyers get a week or more. In a busy market, a few days is common, and some offers go in with fewer subjects or none at all.

This guide is about fitting the inspection into whatever period you have. It is not legal advice. Your realtor and your lawyer decide what goes in the contract.

The sequence that works

When an offer is accepted with subjects, several jobs start at the same time. They are not equally easy to move.

• Financing. Your lender or broker needs an appraisal and documents. You do not control that clock.
• Inspection. You do control this one, but only if you book fast.
• Documents. For a condo, the strata documents need to be requested and read. For a house, the title search and any seller's disclosure.
• Insurance. Some insurers want to know about wiring, plumbing and heating before they agree to cover an older house.

Book the inspection the day the offer is accepted, or earlier. Do not wait for the financing to clear. If you phone before the offer, even better. Tell us the property, the likely subject date, and the age of the building.

What to tell us when you call

We need five things to give you a straight answer on the date.

1. The address, or at least the neighbourhood and the type of building.
2. The year it was built, roughly.
3. The size, or number of floors, and whether there is a suite.
4. Your subject removal date and time.
5. Who arranges access, usually the listing agent.

With those we can say whether the time is workable. Sometimes it is, sometimes it is tight but possible, and sometimes it is not and we tell you so.

Condos need two reviews, not one

A condo purchase has an inspection of the unit and a review of the strata documents, and they are separate jobs. The strata documents include the Form B information certificate, minutes of council meetings, bylaws, financial statements, the contingency reserve fund balance, any special levies and a depreciation report if there is one. If the building is in the leaky condo era, ask about envelope repairs, and see the guide on leaky condos.

Strata managers can take days to produce documents. Ask for them on day one.

If the timeline is too short

It happens. Options, in rough order of how often they work:

• Ask for a longer period. The seller may agree, especially if there are no competing offers.
• Inspect before offering. Some buyers arrange an inspection before writing an offer. This needs the seller's agreement, and it is not always possible.
• Split the subjects. Your realtor may be able to arrange a separate date for the specialist follow-up, such as an electrician's opinion on old wiring.
• Accept more risk. Some buyers remove the inspection subject and rely on what they could see. We would rather you have the information, but the choice is yours. If you go this way, a focused inspection of the roof, the panel and the crawl space gets you the three most expensive categories.

What slips when it is rushed

A rushed inspection cannot change how long the inspection takes. What slips is everything around it.

• Specialist opinions. If the report recommends a plumber or an electrician, there may be no time to get one.
• Quotes. Without a written quote you are guessing at the cost of repairs.
• Reading time. Buyers get the report at the end of a long day and decide in an hour.

You can reduce the damage. Attend the inspection in person. Ask the inspector, at the end, which two or three items matter most. Phone the trades you might need while the inspector is still on site.

If you are the seller

Sellers can change the situation by inspecting first. If the house already has an inspection report that buyers can read, the buyers' inspection can be shorter and the subject period can be too. See pre-listing inspections.

A short checklist

• Phone about the inspection before or on the day the offer is accepted.
• Give us the address, age, size, and the subject date and time.
• Ask the listing agent how access will work, and whether the house will be occupied.
• For a condo, request the strata documents on the same day.
• Ask your insurer whether it has questions about wiring, plumbing or heating.
• Plan to attend the inspection, and keep the evening free to read the report.
• Decide in advance what findings would make you walk away.

To ask about a date, phone or use the booking form. If we are on a roof we cannot answer, but we do call back.