You no longer have to in order to compete. As of October 15, 2025, Massachusetts sellers cannot condition acceptance of an offer on a buyer giving up the inspection, and a signed disclosure confirming your right to inspect must come before the first written contract. You may still choose to skip it, but that choice has to be genuinely yours. Competition has moved to price, deposit, closing flexibility, and inspection timing instead.

The seller owns the house until the deed passes, and the standard purchase and sale agreement requires them to deliver it in the condition it was in when the agreement was signed, ordinary wear excepted. For a failed appliance or system, the usual fixes are a repair before closing, a credit at closing, or money held back in escrow until the work is done. For serious damage, the seller's insurance responds and the buyer generally chooses between walking away with the deposit or closing and taking the insurance proceeds. Get any of it in writing before the closing.

If the home is on a septic system, almost certainly. A licensed inspector examines the system and reports to the local board of health whether it passes, fails, or needs further evaluation, and the result follows the property. The seller usually arranges and pays for the inspection, which is the inexpensive part; a replacement is not. Scheduling it before you list rather than after you have an accepted offer is the single best thing a seller can do here.

Usually yes, if the contingencies had expired and you were ready to close. The standard Massachusetts purchase and sale agreement treats the deposit as liquidated damages, and you can keep it even if you resell the house for more. Two practical points: the same clause is often your ceiling, so the deposit may be your only recovery, and the escrow agent cannot release the money without either the buyer's written agreement or a court order. Before making any demand, confirm every deadline and extension in the file.