I think it varies by area, no one rule applies. Sometimes a seller will say something akin to "have any inspections you want to have, at your expense. The outcome of any findings will be subject to discussion and negotiation".

It would seem asking a seller to pay for an inspection would be a conflict of interest. The only inspection a seller may need to pay for is a one that is required for certificate of occupancy to allow the sale of the house.

"The only inspection a seller may need to pay for is a one that is required for certificate of occupancy to allow the sale of the house."

Mike, this must vary regionally. In my state, for single family residences, a certificate of occupancy is only required at the completion of construction, before the structure is first occupied. Never at a later date and not for a sale.

An insurance company may require a termite inspection (those tend to be very common, maybe because of how common termites are here) but not anything else. Buyers often want a "home inspection" (here that's customarily at the buyer's expense) but the quality and usefulness of those cover a very wide range from useful to useless and most points in-between.

Customary practices also get thrown out the window in hot markets. Sellers often take the approach "Here's the house, here's how it is. I don't need to bicker with you (Buyer A) because there are 4 people standing in line behind you ready to submit "over listing price" offers and take the house as is and with the terms and conditions I set. "

Your question depends on the State, county and even city you're looking to buy a house in, and if you're paying cash or have a lender (mortgage).

States differ what is required or disclosed selling a house from everything to almost nothing. Alabama for example is a "buyer beware" state and only requires a mold disclosure if known, everything else is the buyers responsibility to determine. In Minnesota the state has no laws requiring an inspection but many counties and cities do.

But (and a big but) most lenders do require an inspection to verify septic conditions and will not make a loan on a house with a bad septic system.

I don't believe you can force a seller to pay for anything, you can only ask in your offer.

if a seller likes your offer he/she will pay the couple hundred for an inspection. If you want a house with a septic system you'd be foolish not to pay to inspect the system before risking a replacement cost of $15K-$30 to replace a failed system.

The practice of buying and selling houses and their associated inspections very greatly throughout the US. If you want to sell a house in my NJ township, you have to file an application with the township for $150 so the township inspector can do an inspection for any code violations. If you have a fireplace, you have to show proof it has been cleaned and inspected. Once all the code violations are resolved, the township will give their approval the house may be sold. I believe it is called a Certificate of Occupancy, but perhaps it has another name.

A family member just had a home inspection done on a 66 year old house in the Charleston SC area. The house has known issues and is being sold as is. The price of the inspection was $1000. The inspection report was 36 pages with multiple photos. The inspector spent about 30 minutes on the phone with the potential buyer giving his opinion on various big ticket items and their potential costs. The buyer backed out of the deal, but made a made a lower price offer to make up for the additional problems found during the inspection. The buyer is not interested in negotiating and has put the house back on the market.

Have sold & purchased homes in multiple states. Septic inspection was always paid by me as seller (required by state) and termite inspection was always paid by buyer (generally required by lender).

It's often local Sanitation or Health Departments that require septic inspections.

You're right, mike, practices and requirements do vary greatly from place to place. The "bring it up to code" process you describe is not practiced where I am at all. My state innovated a standard disclosure process, now followed elsewhere, where sellers need to disclose issues, problems, work done without proper permits, etc, of which they have knowledge., None of it, with I believe the exception of serious health risks, needs to be remediate, just disclosed. A seller remains liable to remediate undisclosed problems discovered after close. The rationale being if the deficiency had been known, the price offered might have been lower.

I'd like to hear from a real estate lawyer on what I'm about to say but I believe other than new construction, real estate is always sold "as is". Other than with the proviso that one should be able to assume something of common appearance functions as would be expected unless disclosed to the contrary - a faucet when on should provide water, a drain should drain, a toilet should flush, a switch should turn on a light, windows and doors should open and close, roofs shouldn't leak, etc.

I am not a real estate lawyer, just a broker with 45 years experience in 3 states. As has been stated above, laws vary between states. "As is" clauses in a contract mean nothing in a court of law. We have been seeing "as disclosed" clauses, which puts greater pressure on the seller to be honest in their disclosure statement.

I encourage my sellers to provide the inspection as part of their disclosures. I encourage my buyers to ask sellers to provide the inspection. Who pays for it is part of the sale negotiation.

I'm sure the effect of the term varies by state too but the general notion of As Is means the property is conveyed with no implied warranties or representations relating to condition.

In my state, sellers are obligated to disclose any particulars of condition known to them but they have no obligation to do an investigation looking for such items nor any liability for conditions found by the buyer after conveyance. Another way to describe these circumstances is to say "as is".

In MA a "Title V" inspection of septic systems is required to sell a house, so the seller usually pays. If the system flunks the inspection (a majority of systems older than 20-30 years fail) the seller can either fix it or sell it "as is", eg with a failed inspection and requirement that it be fixed prior to occupancy. Most sellers choose to have a new system installed, as the ding you take for a failed Title V tends to be huge.