Home inspections in Massachusetts: what to expect

Timing and the contingency deadline

In Massachusetts the inspection usually takes place in the days after your offer is accepted and before the purchase and sale agreement is signed. The offer sets a date by which the inspection must be done and by which you must tell the seller whether you are going ahead. Read that clause for three things: the deadline, how notice has to be given, and what you may do if you are not satisfied. The overall sequence is in our guide to the buying process.

Book the general inspector the day the offer is accepted, then line up anything that needs a separate visit. EPA’s guidance for real estate radon tests calls for at least 48 hours of measurement, and tests shorter than four days need the house kept closed for at least 12 hours beforehand, so radon has to start early to finish in time.

Ask the listing side ahead of time to have the utilities on and the attic, basement, electrical panel and heating equipment reachable. The state’s standards of practice bar inspectors from turning on systems that are shut down; they will recommend that the seller demonstrate them instead, which can push a question past your deadline.

Go to the inspection. A good inspector walks the outside first, then the basement and mechanical systems, the attic, and each room, and will answer questions on site. The report belongs to you: the licensing law treats disclosing results without the client’s approval as grounds for discipline. Your agent sees it only if you share it, and the seller sees only what you choose to send.

Who may inspect: licensing and the referral rule

Under Massachusetts law no one may perform a home inspection for pay without a license, and the inspection must come with a written report. To become a licensed home inspector, a person must have worked at least one year as a licensed associate inspector, completed at least 100 inspections under supervision, and passed the board’s exam. The license runs for two years, and the inspector must carry it and show it to a client on request.

Licensed inspectors must carry errors and omissions insurance of at least $250,000 in the aggregate. A lawsuit arising from a home inspection must be started within two years after the date of the completed written report. The board can discipline an inspector who accepts commissions from anyone other than the client, tries to limit liability for negligence by contract, or reports on market value or whether you should buy.

When the first written purchase contract is signed, the agent, or the seller if there is no agent, must hand the buyer a state brochure on the home inspection process. Agents may not directly recommend a specific inspection company or inspector, but may give the complete list of licensed inspectors prepared by the board when asked. The restriction does not apply where a written contract or agency disclosure shows the agent works exclusively for the buyer as a buyer’s broker.

Inspectors are also barred from estimating the cost of repairs in their report and from offering to repair a house their firm inspected. For numbers, get quotes from contractors during the contingency.

What a standard inspection covers, and what it leaves out

By statute a home inspection is a written evaluation of the readily accessible components of a one- to four-unit home: heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, structure, foundation, roof, masonry, and the exterior and interior. The board’s standards describe it as visual and not technically exhaustive. Inspectors are not required to report on radon, lead paint, asbestos, pests including rodents and wood-destroying insects, mold, items that are underground or not readily accessible, code compliance, or the remaining life of a system.

Radon has a clear federal benchmark. EPA recommends fixing a home at 4 pCi/L or more and considering a fix between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Place the test in the lowest level that could be used regularly, finished or not, because a buyer may use space the seller does not. If the seller still lives in the house, closed-house conditions can be hard to keep; ask how the tester controls for that.

For an older oil-heated house, ask about the tank. Massachusetts requires owners of one- to four-unit homes whose oil supply or return line touches concrete, earth or the floor to protect it with a non-metallic sleeve, an oil safety valve or another approved method, certified by a licensed oil burner technician. Tanks also corrode from the inside, so a clean exterior proves little; age and service records matter more. Buried tanks, septic systems, sewer lines and chimneys are covered in our single-family due diligence guide.

Reading the report

Most reports are long, especially on older Massachusetts houses, and that alone is not a warning sign. Building codes set the minimum a house had to meet when it was built; an inspector compares it with good practice today. Many items are suggestions or maintenance, not defects.

Sort each item into one of three groups. Safety items, such as exposed wiring, missing handrails or a heating appliance venting badly, come first. Next are repairs that keep the house warm, safe and dry: roof leaks, grading that sends water toward the foundation, a failing water heater. Maintenance items, such as caulking, gutter cleaning or a dripping faucet, belong on your own list after closing.

Inspectors do not have to estimate how long a system will last. Read equipment age from the model and serial numbers on the data plate, and ask the seller for receipts, service records and transferable warranties. For a roof, ask the year it was done, whether the old layers were removed or covered over, what material went on, and whether a warranty transfers. A well-kept older boiler can be in better shape than a neglected newer one.

Watch for hedged phrases such as “evidence of” or “possible.” Staining, efflorescence on basement walls, or a soft spot in a floor are signs, not diagnoses. If an item could be expensive, send the right specialist during the contingency. Once you close, your remedies are limited: the seller is not your insurer, and a claim against the inspector must be filed within two years of the report.

Negotiating after the inspection

There are three common ways to handle a problem. The seller can repair it before closing; in that case ask for a licensed contractor, permits where required, receipts, and a chance to check the work at the final walk-through. The price can come down. Or the seller can give a credit at closing toward your closing costs. Each has trade-offs, set out below.

Closing credits are capped by your loan. For Fannie Mae loans, seller and other interested-party contributions are limited to a percentage of the lower of the sales price or the appraised value, set by occupancy and the LTV/CLTV ratio: for a principal residence or second home, 3% above 90%, 6% from 75.01% to 90% and 9% at 75% or below; for an investment property, 2%. The credit can cover closing costs and prepaids, not the down payment, and it cannot exceed your actual closing costs. Other loan programs set their own limits, so confirm the number with your lender before you agree to it.

Keep the request short and focused on safety and water. Sellers can refuse, and a house listed as-is signals that they intend to. A request for the shut-off valve locations, service records and warranty paperwork costs the seller nothing and is easy to grant.

State law bars a seller from making acceptance of an offer conditional on giving up the inspection, and from accepting an offer from a buyer who announces in advance an intention to waive it, apart from narrow exceptions; our guide to writing an offer covers this. A separate inspection-rights disclosure signed by buyer and seller is required at or before the first purchase contract, and the inspection period must be reasonable. What you decide after inspecting, including taking the house as it is, remains your decision. Whether you can still walk away depends on the contingency and deadlines in your offer and P&S, not on a label such as “for information only,” so ask your attorney what exit right the wording gives you.