Short inspection window or waiver on a $715,000 San Francisco flat?

[bikesAndHarbor]

We’ve lost two offers on new-build flats in San Francisco to buyers with fewer conditions. Our agent thinks shortening the inspection window could make our next offer more competitive, but waiving inspection entirely feels reckless at $715,000. The visible condition has been decent, although the age question and possible financing costs still concern us. Has anyone found a sensible middle ground, such as arranging a pre-offer inspection or limiting the contingency to structural or major defects? I’m open to disagreement, especially if the risk is genuinely different for a new-build flat.

 

[xavi_flint]

I’d shorten the window before waiving it. A pre-offer inspection could work if access and timing allow, but first clarify what “older new-build” means here: is this a newly completed flat in an older structure, a conversion, or simply an earlier phase of a recent development? That changes what an inspector should concentrate on. Also ask whether any existing inspection findings are available, without treating them as a substitute for your own assessment.

 

[bikesAndHarbor]

That wording is exactly what I need to untangle. The listing describes it as a new-build flat, but I haven’t confirmed whether the age concern relates to the underlying building or the development phase. I’ll ask the agent directly before deciding on contingency language. I’m also going to price out a rapid inspection rather than assuming the only choices are a normal window or no inspection.

 

[GoodSignal]

One caveat: a narrow structural contingency may not protect you from expensive non-structural problems, and it does nothing by itself about financing. Before making the offer cleaner, calculate what remains after moving costs, the first mortgage payment, insurance excess, service charges and any immediate repairs. If that leaves a thin emergency fund, an inspection waiver is a much bigger gamble. Furniture can wait; defect-related work often cannot.

 

[lookTheRadar]

I don’t think waiving is automatically reckless if a buyer has enough information and cash reserves, but losing two offers isn’t a good reason on its own. Get the exact building history, ask what the lender still requires, seek the earliest inspection slot available, and define which findings would let you withdraw or renegotiate. If the seller will not allow access before the offer and your post-completion fund would be tight, I’d accept being less competitive rather than inherit an unknown bill.