Your home inspection under Form 35

The Inspection Period: the days written on Form 35

Form 35, the Inspection Addendum, makes your contract conditioned on your subjective satisfaction with inspections of the property. Paragraph 3 sets the Inspection Period: the number of days written on the form after mutual acceptance, 10 days if the blank is empty. That number is counted under Form 21 General Term l. The period starts the day after mutual acceptance and ends at 9:00 p.m. on the last day. A period longer than 5 days counts calendar days and rolls to the next business day only if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. Your agent and our transaction administrator compute the exact deadline the day the contract goes mutual.

Paragraph 2 puts the inspection in your hands: all inspections are ordered by you, performed by inspectors of your choice, and completed at your expense. You may not alter the property without the seller's permission, you must restore anything an inspection disturbs, and you are responsible for damage an inspection causes.

Book the general inspection within the first two or three days. The report typically arrives the same day or the next, and if it recommends a specialist you need time inside the window to act on it, either by scheduling the specialist or by giving notice of additional inspections, described below.

Your four options on Form 35R, and what silence means

Before the Inspection Period ends you give the seller one of four notices, usually on Form 35R. The first three need only one buyer's signature; a repair request is a proposal all buyers sign.

Paragraph 3 spells out the cost of doing nothing: the contingency is conclusively deemed waived and the seller has no obligation to make repairs or modifications. Missing the deadline by an hour equals approving the inspection. The 9:00 p.m. cutoff and the delivery rules in Form 21 General Term k (a notice to the seller counts only when received by the seller or the listing side) are why your agent will ask you to sign early on the last day.

• Approve the inspection and waive the contingency. The contract proceeds as written.
• Disapprove the inspection and terminate. The Earnest Money is refunded to you.
• Give notice of additional inspections. Under paragraph 5, if an inspector recommends further evaluation (a sewer scope, a roofer, an engineer, a septic specialist), you give written notice before the period expires, with the inspector's recommendation if the seller requested it. The Inspection Period then expires the days written in paragraph 5 after your notice, 5 if blank.
• Request repairs or modifications, including a price adjustment or a repair credit. This opens the paragraph 6 negotiation, covered in the last section.

Choosing inspectors, and what a Washington home inspection covers

Form 35 paragraph 1 requires your general home inspection to be performed by you or by a person licensed under RCW 18.280, Washington's home inspector licensing law, administered by the Department of Licensing. Check the license number on the DOL site. Beyond the license, choose on experience with the housing type (a 1960s Bellevue rambler, a 2005 Issaquah Highlands townhome and a downtown Kirkland condo are different inspections), on report quality (photos, plain-language summaries, clear severity ratings), and on availability inside your window. Your agent can name inspectors RexMont clients have used; the choice and the contract with the inspector are yours.

A Washington home inspection is a visual, non-invasive examination of readily accessible systems and components, performed to the standards of practice in WAC 308-408C. Expect the inspector to cover the roof (from the ground, a ladder or a drone), exterior and site grading, structure and foundation as visible from the crawl space and attic, the electrical panel and a sample of outlets, plumbing supply and drains, the water heater, heating and cooling equipment, interior surfaces, windows and doors, insulation and ventilation, and the attached garage.

Plan to be there for the last half hour. The walk-through summary, with the inspector pointing at the things that matter, is worth more than the PDF.

What it does not cover: sewer, septic, pests and specialists

The standards also define what a home inspection is not. The inspector does not move furniture, open walls, test for mold, asbestos, radon or lead, evaluate code compliance, operate systems that are shut down, inspect underground piping or tanks, or predict remaining life. Several items Eastside buyers care about are separate inspections by separate specialists:

• Sewer scope. Form 35 paragraph 1(a) says your inspection may include a sewer line video inspection unless the may-not box is checked. A camera runs from the house to the city main or the septic tank; the general inspector cannot see that pipe. Older Seattle, Kirkland and Bellevue side sewers in concrete, clay or Orangeburg are why this is routine.
• Septic. Form 35 paragraph 9 advises that on-site sewage systems are outside Form 35 and points to Form 22S (Form 22S-King in King County). The septic inspection is a separate contingency with its own clock.
• Pests. Wood-destroying organism inspections require a structural pest inspector license from the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Many home inspectors hold both licenses; the report says whether a WDO inspection was performed.
• Specialists. Roofers, electricians, HVAC technicians, chimney inspectors (Level 2 camera), structural or geotechnical engineers, and oil tank locators. Form 35 paragraph 8 limits tank inspections to presence or absence unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.

Repair negotiations, the report rule, and the seller's response

If you request repairs or modifications, paragraph 6 governs the negotiation. The seller has the days written in 6(a), 3 if blank, to agree to all, some or none, or counter. If the seller does not agree to everything, you have the days in 6(b), 3 if blank, from the seller's response (or from the end of the seller's period if the seller is silent) to accept, agree on other remedies, or terminate with your earnest money refunded. The form warns in capitals: these periods do not repeat, and your inaction during your reply period waives the contingency. Both 3-day periods are business days under Form 21 General Term l.

Paragraph 4 surprises buyers: you shall not give the inspection report, or any portion of it, to the seller unless the seller requests it in writing; if you do, the contingency is conclusively deemed waived. You may describe the repairs you want and attach contractor bids. Checkboxes on page one of Form 35 show whether the seller asked in advance.

What to ask for, and whether a credit beats a repair, is your agent's job with you. Repairs the seller agrees to are done at the seller's expense, no fewer than the days in paragraph 7 (3 if blank) before closing, and you may pay for a re-inspection.