From the category archives:

Inspections

Choosing the Right Neighborhood Tip #3 - Swimming Pool Barrier Laws

by Gary on May 24, 2008

Ok, so I’m changing the order of the Choosing the Right Neighborhood Tips and adding a new tip.  As a father and long time resident of the valley this is something that is very close to my heart.  Summer is upon us and in Arizona that means backyard barbecues, trips to lake, tubing down the Salt River and lounging by the swimming pool and cooling off. 

But with summer comes the gut wrenching, heart breaking and almost inevitable chain of very tragic news stories like this one, Drowning Victim, 3 , is ID’d .  It goes without saying, or at least it should, ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS WATCH YOU KIDS AROUND WATER!

Which brings me to Choosing the Right Neighborhood (or in this case home) Tip #3 - Swimming Pool Barrier Laws.  The Arizona Association of REALTORS® (AAR) Residential Resale Purchase Contract states in section 6g lines 217-220;

“Swimming Pool Barrier Regulations:  During the Inspection Period, Buyer agrees to investigate all applicable state, county and municipal Swimming Pool barrier regulations and agrees to comply with and pay all costs of compliance with said regulations prior to occupying the Premises, unless otherwise agreed in writing.  If the Premises contains a Swimming Pool, Buyer acknowledges receipt of the Arizona Department of Health Services approved private pool safety notice.”

Buyers, I hope you got that; per the standard residential purchase contract you are agreeing to investigate the laws, comply with the laws and pay all costs of compliance with the laws prior to occupying the premises.   Buyers must complete this investigation during the Inspection Period, typically the first 10 days from the date of contract acceptance.   

When choosing a home inspector, be sure to ask if they are up to date with the state, county and municipality Swimming Pool Barrier Laws for the area the home is located in.  Request that they put in writing their findings on the status of the home’s pool barrier.  If the barrier is found not to be up to code some of your options might be; request that the seller bring the barrier up to code, cancel the contract, or pay for the barrier to be brought up to code out of your own pocket. 

Arizona’s Swimming Pool Barrier Laws can vary from county to county and city to city.  At a minimum A.R.S. §36-1681 requires that all residential swimming pools are enclosed by a barrier.   The Phoenix Association of Realtors® has put together a brief summary of several county and city laws regarding pool barriers.   While this summary is not a complete detailing of the laws it is a good place to start.  The Arizona Association of Realtors® has compiled a list of Pool Barrier Law Contact Information to help buyers obtain a copy of the pool barrier law requirements that may affect the property being purchased.

Some last words of advice.  Do NOT count on barriers to keep children from reaching the pool.  No barrier is foolproof.  Barriers only slow a child’s access to the pool.  Do NOT be distracted by phone calls, doorbells, or chores while children are in the pool.  Attend CPR classes.  Lock passageways (such as pet doors) leading to the pool.  Never leave children unsupervised in the pool, around water, or inside the pool area - not even for a second!  No amount of water is too small for a child to drown in.

 

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As Is or Not?

by Gary on May 6, 2008

It is standard practice with bank owned homes that you agree to buy the home as is. That does not prohibit you from having a professional inspect the home for defects but does suggest that the bank will not pay for any repairs. In the case of foreclosure homes an inspection is mainly to determine if there are serious enough defects that would be cause for cancelling the purchase.

But recently I have found, at least in one case, “AS IS” may not be the last word.

Here is what happened; my client submitted an offer on a bank owned home in Avondale. After a short negotiation period we came to an agreed upon purchase price for a home with the bank who owned it. An inspection was ordered which turned up a serious problem with the air conditioning units, both of them. Time to cancel?? Not in this case.

What we did was have a licensed A/C contractor check the system out throughly and give us an estimate for repairs and in the case of one of the units replacement. We then submitted the estimates, an addendum requesting credit for the repairs, and a notice of cancellation via the Buyer Inspection Notice (BINSR). We expected the bank to stand behind the As Is addendum signed by the buyer and refuse to pay for the repairs which would have been fine. My client would get their full earnest deposit back and we would then begin the search for another home.

The banks first response was to ask for more time to review the estimate and make their decision, which the buyer granted. Our thinking was “hey, if they didn’t say no right off the bat maybe they will step up and make a concession”. As you may have already guessed the bank agreed to credit the buyer for the repairs; at a cost of $6,000, no less. It appears the bank wanted to sell the house rather then put it back on the market and start the selling process all over again. Not to mention the fact that the next buyer might find the same problem and cancel to deal as well. It just goes to show that even if they say sold “As Is” it doesn’t mean they wont fix things to the buyer’s satisfaction.

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