Waving Goodbye to Waiving Inspections

“August 6 was a great day for Massachusetts consumers, home buyers, buyers’ agents, and today’s home sellers who will be tomorrow’s homebuyers. Allowing homebuyers the right to have an independent inspection done of the home they’re about to purchase—something that was the industry standard for the past half-century—is now the law,” said Michael Atwell, former president of the New England Chapter of the American Society of Home Inspectors. “A huge thank you to the Massachusetts Legislature who appreciated the need for and urgency of this legislation.” FROM SENATE PRESS RELEASE
Seeing the terrible impact that waiving home inspections was having on our post-purchase clients, and seeing that the real estate industry had no interest in policing themselves and little concern for the fate of those buyers (“Why would I want a home inspection? It gets in the way of my deal,” one told me) ASHI New England felt it was time for the State to step in. And so it began in May 2022:
The first thing I did was contact my local state representative (later the sponsor), who I knew had an interest in helping homeowners. We met for coffee, and I explained the need to establish the right to an inspection. He said, “I would have thought that was already a law!”
Next was creating a bill, making a website to raise funds, starting a corporation so we could hire a state lobbyist, and finding a lobbyist. Then there were dozens of emails, letters, and phone calls that went to hundreds of clients, personal contacts, legislators, home inspectors, and the media over many months. We testified at the State House.
It was a ton of work, but we also had lots of luck. We had a board who was there from the beginning; they believed in the cause when some considered it a longshot to donate considerable time for the tasks ahead and, of course, the chapter’s funds saved up over many years.
We were lucky to get connected with a great attorney who worked with our goals and concerns and drafted an impeccable piece of legislation. We were connected to a fabulous lobbyist who was very experienced and respected who guided us expertly through the maze of the legislative process.
We were lucky to have our bill bundled into a larger bill that the Governor cared deeply about.
Perhaps most of all, we were lucky to have a just cause—one that affected all parts of the state, and one that would not cost the State any money to implement. All of these will apply to other states that wish to establish a similar law.
On August 6, our Governor signed the following into law:
SECTION 45.
Chapter 143 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section: – Section 101.
The executive office of housing and livable communities shall promulgate regulations to ensure that no seller of a residential structure or a residential condominium unit, or an agent thereof, shall:
(i) condition the acceptance of an offer to purchase on the prospective purchaser’s agreement to waive, limit, restrict or otherwise forego any prospective purchaser’s right to have the structure or unit inspected, except when the sale of the structure or unit is to occur at an auction conducted by an auctioneer licensed under chapter 100; or
(ii) accept an offer to purchase from a prospective purchaser, or an agent thereof who, in advance of the seller’s acceptance of an offer, informs the seller, either directly or indirectly, that the prospective purchaser intends to waive, in whole or in part, the prospective purchaser’s right to inspection; provided, however, that the seller may accept such an offer without violating this section if the prospective purchaser is:
(A) the spouse, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandchild or great-grandparent of the seller; or
(B) the former spouse of the seller and the sale of the structure or unit is being made pursuant to a judgment or order under chapter 208; provided further, that other limited exceptions may be provided for by regulation.
This is now the law. The Governor’s Housing Office is now charged with developing regulations over the next few months to implement the intent of the law. We will be working with them on that. The law will be enforceable when the regulations are done.
I was recently asked by ASHI President Mark Goodman to chair the Legislative Committee at National. I am honored to be asked. Our chapter always hoped that if we were successful, maybe the homebuying dominoes would start falling in the opposite direction across the country. As chairman, my first priority will be to develop a call-to-action package outlining what we did, what we learned, and samples of all our correspondences to be available to other chapters in the hopes of saving them valuable time and money.
Feel free to get in touch with me at any time.
If I don’t reply immediately, I’m probably at an inspection!
Opinions or statements of authors are solely their own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of ASHI, its agents, or editors. Always check with your local governmental agency and independently verify for accuracy, completeness, and reliability.
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In this Issue
Postcards from the Field
The Changing Profession
Why “Code” is a Bad Word for Home Inspectors
by Henry Sander
Committees to Make a Difference
by Mark Goodman
Building Relationships and Community
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