Hot Vancouver real estate market needs post-bid 'cooling off' period, says association

The Home Inspectors Association of B.C. is calling for the province to implement a mandatory post-bid "cooling off period" so prospective homebuyerscan get a property inspected before they purchaseit.

The association says homebuyers are increasingly bypassing inspections to win bidding wars in the red-hot housing market in Metro Vancouver.

"The market is so hot, if you put that subject in, you're not going to get a house," saidVinceBurnett, president of the Home Inspectors Association of B.C.

Burnettsaid he used to doabout 350 home inspections a year, but nowthat number is dwindling.He said as few as 10 per centof homes are now inspected before purchase down more than 75 per cent from last year.

"The market has changedsubstantially overthe last sixmonths. People are scrambling to purchase homes because there's a shortage of them," he said.

His organization isputting pressure on the provincial government to make policy changes.

"We're trying to push theseven-day cooling off period, where a person has sevendays to get a home inspection done, and if he decides thathe can't afford the repairs, they can walk away," he said.

Burnettsent his concerns in aletter to Housing Minister Rich Colemanthreeweeks ago, but said there's been no response yet.

Home inspections a 'luxury'

Realtors in the provinceare also feeling the heat.

Sean HoldenwithRE/MAX Real Estate Services says up to 22buyers are bidding on onehouse at a time in Metro Vancouver.

He saidhewarns his clients if a house needs work, but said asking for an inspection will probably meanthey won't get the house of their dreams.

"There is just not the comfort anymore to have home inspections. We don't have the luxurywith the demands of such competitive offers," he said.

$20K worth of repairs

It's a situation new homeownerKevinGirard is all too familiar with.

He recently bought a two-storey house in East Vancouver for almost $1 million that was in such bad condition he felt it was unsafe for his two-year-old daughter to live in.

"There were holes in the wall, some of them had electrical in them.It was just a disaster the kitchen was just a mess, there was garbage in the backyard,it was just disgusting," he said.

But Girardsaid there were so many bidders when he went to put in an offerthat asking for an inspection was out of the question.

After he bought the house, he discovered a number of other issues he said had beencovered up for the open house.

"There were many areas whereclearlysomeone hadjust tried to put lipstick on a pig, so to speak," he said.

For example, he said someof the drywall was soaked and full of mould and someone had just drywalledoverit.

Girard said it took sixweeks and $20,000 before he and his family were finally able to move in.