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Buyer Protection Resource
Protecting your investment starts before closing. A home inspection is important—but it is only one part of your due diligence.
Your responsibility
Investigate what matters before your contingency expires.
Under the Georgia REALTORS® Purchase and Sale Agreement and applicable Georgia law, buyers have important responsibilities to investigate the property and surrounding area before completing their purchase. Every buyer has different priorities—schools, internet availability, future development, traffic, crime, environmental issues, or neighborhood character. DUFFY Realty cannot determine which factors matter to you or independently investigate every issue that could influence your purchase. If a concern could affect your decision, investigate it before your inspection contingency expires.
Research assistant
Use AI to research the property and neighborhood.
AI can explain technical information, summarize local resources, suggest questions, and identify issues you may not have considered. Try prompts like:
Always verify important information. AI is not a substitute for inspections, legal advice, surveys, or confirmation through government agencies, utility providers, HOAs, and other reliable sources.
1 · Property
Investigate the property.
A general home inspection is only one part of due diligence. Depending on the property, consider the following.
Structural & mechanical
- General home inspection
- Roof age and condition
- HVAC, plumbing, and electrical
- Foundation and structural components
- Chimney, water heater, and appliances
Additional inspections
- Septic system and well water
- Pest and termite inspection
- Mold and radon
- Pool and spa
- Outbuildings
Property characteristics
- Survey, boundaries, and easements
- Drainage, standing water, and flood hazard
- Utility costs
- Internet availability
- Cell-phone reception
Also check the county GIS map and tax assessor. Review boundaries, easements, adjacent ownership, tax parcels, tax history, property characteristics, and homestead-exemption information.
If inspections reveal concerns, discuss your contractual options with your DUFFY agent before the inspection contingency expires.
2 · Neighborhood
Investigate the neighborhood.
The home is only part of your investment. Research whether the surrounding area meets your household’s needs and expectations.
Daily environment
- Crime and schools
- Traffic patterns, noise, and odors
- Airports, railroads, and busy roads
- Commercial properties and stadiums
Nearby influences
- Power lines and cell towers
- Cemeteries, landfills, and quarries
- Prisons
- Short-term rentals such as Airbnb or VRBO
- HOA restrictions
Visit more than once
- Weekday morning
- Weekday evening
- Weekend
- Rush hour
- After dark
Neighborhoods can feel completely different depending on the day and time.
3 · Future development
Investigate what may be built nearby.
Today’s neighborhood may not be tomorrow’s. Future development can affect property values, views, privacy, noise, traffic, lighting, utilities, and your enjoyment of the home.
Research proposed projects
- Data centers, technology parks, and warehouses
- Distribution centers and industrial parks
- Apartments, mixed-use projects, and shopping centers
- Substations, transmission lines, solar farms, and battery storage
- Cell towers, highway expansions, and road widening
Review local planning records
- Planning and zoning department
- Planning commission agendas
- Future Land Use Map (FLUM)
- Comprehensive plan
- Rezoning and conditional-use applications
- Electric-provider grid-expansion announcements
4 · Environmental & insurance risk
Investigate risks a standard inspection may not reveal.
Environmental questions
- Flooding, wetlands, and water drainage
- Air quality
- Former industrial uses or gas stations
- Environmental contamination
- Insurance claim history
C.L.U.E. Report
The Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange report can provide a seven-year insurance-claim history and identify water, fire, lightning, wind, theft, flooding, and other losses.
Request it through your insurance agent or LexisNexis Consumer Services, then compare it carefully with the Seller’s Property Disclosure.
Before the deadline
Questions every buyer should ask.
- Would I still buy this home if the property behind me is developed?
- Am I comfortable with the traffic, noise, and neighborhood activity?
- Have I visited at different times of day?
- Have I investigated anything that could affect my household’s lifestyle?
- Have I researched anything that could affect future value?
- Have I verified the information that is important to me?
The best time to discover a concern is before you buy—not after closing.
Your due diligence period is the time to ask questions, verify information, perform inspections, and research anything that could influence your decision.
If discovering something after closing would make you wish you had never purchased the property, investigate it now. DUFFY’s goal is to help you make an informed decision and purchase with confidence.