Recently, several of Japan’s major real estate brokerages have started offering home inspections on properties they list. In some cases the agency will offer to provide coverage for up to two years following the sale for any defects, but the fine print usually requires the property to already be free from defects and for the agency to act on behalf of both the buyer and the seller resulting in a double commission (a full commission collected from each party).
This poses a serious conflict of interest, since agents have a vested interest in the sale. Buyers should be cautious about relying on these reports. There may be cases where inspection reports arranged by the seller’s agency receive passing grades but fail to include obvious defects.
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