Question:
“My wife and I have never bought a home before. I heard that legally the home has to be of a certain condition to sell. Specifically that the plumbing, heating, electrical, and appliances must work, and that the roof is watertight. Is this correct?”
Answer:
No. There is no such law.
The old California purchase contract required all systems of a home to be in working order and roof to be free of known leaks. But that contract changed over 10 years ago.
All the law or the standard California contract requires today is that the water heater is strapped and that operative smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are up in the “sleeping areas.”
Of course, you should have a qualified home inspector inspect the home. If the inspector finds some of the items you mentioned (or other items), you can ask the seller to repair them or credit you funds through escrow instead.
Depending on the market and the seller’s motivation, the seller may agree to all, some, or none of your requests. If you don’t reach agreement and you’re within the contract’s time frames, you may cancel the sale.
But remember: it’s a used home, so don’t expect perfection.
