Many buyers in St. Louis City don’t realize it, but when a property changes hands it requires a St. Louis City Occupancy inspection. This should not be in place of the buyers building inspection, but does allow another set of eyes on the property to assure safety and occupancy.
The St. Louis city building inspector looks at the standard items of smoke & carbon monoxide detectors, address seen from the alley, peeling paint that could contain lead, and much more. In the recent weeks we had a seller located right outside of the DeBaliviere Neighborhood flagged for a non permitted deck that was deemed not safe for the new owner. This did not come up in the buyers formal building inspection for specific repairs needed, but the St. Louis city occupancy inspector required major work of $2300+ in repairs, contractor involvement, permits pulled, and extensive repairs done. The new homeowner should get many more safe years of life out of the deck due to the required actions. Therefore the St. Louis city required occupancy inspection is a positive for the buyer purchasing in St. Louis City.
In the residential sales contract sup
lied to the Realtors by St. Louis Realtors Association it has a section requiring that sellers are required to complete occupancy inspection and repairs unless they notify buyers in a specific time frame that the repairs will not be done. The buyer then has the option to exit the contract if not ideal. In all my years of selling real estate I have never had a seller refuse to do occupancy repairs unless it is clear that the sale is an “As-Is” up front.
St. Louis city makes the occupancy inspection accessible and easy to set up. You can check out the city website for more explanation Again, St. Louis city inspections are not usually used in place of a formal building inspection. You can check out the ASHI website for certified Building inspectors for that formal home inspection needed, but buyers can have additional comfort that additional inspections are required from St. Louis city will inspect your future home as well.
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