Q: I'm buying a house, and the seller is willing to provide me a copy of the survey so I can save the cost of getting a new one. Is this a good idea?

A: Not in our opinion. First, the survey was done for the seller, not for you. If it is wrong (and you'd be surprised how often this occurs), you have no one to look to for a remedy. In addition, surveyors frequently disagree, and then you have a boundary line conflict to resolve. You want to hire a surveyor that is competent, has errors and omissions insurance, and a long track record of business. For homes, surveys are very cheap and well worth the money to get a quality product. Ask your title company for recommendations. They deal with surveyors all the time and know which ones they can trust.

Q: We signed a contract to purchase a house. When we finished the inspections, we amended the contract to provide that the seller perform certain repairs. During our walk-through on the day of closing, we discovered nothing had been repaired. The seller refused to delay the closing or perform the repairs. What is our next step?

A: This is a people-problem. You appear to have done everything right, but the seller is admittedly not complying with the terms of the contract. Assuming the repairs cost less than $10,000, and assuming you want to buy the house, you may want to consider closing. When the seller has closed and is getting ready to leave, serve him with a lawsuit. You can file one in Justice of the Peace Court without a lawyer, then serve him. Take lots of pictures of the failure to repair and get your Realtor on board as a witness, and your inspector

.

The alternative is to refuse to close, then fight over the earnest money in the same court, with the same witnesses. If you do nothing and forfeit the earnest money, it will incentivize this seller to do it again. Some people have to learn the hard way.