The Ins and Outs of Home Inspections
August 7, 2020
Moving isn’t exactly cheap, and while there are plenty of costs you’ve probably accounted for, there are just as many that are easy to overlook until it’s time to pay the bill. A home inspection for example, can easily cost over $500.
While inspection costs may seem like a nuisance, it’s undeniable that they often pay for themselves (and then some) if you’re able to avoid the purchase of a home that needs significant, costly repairs. And while home inspections are strongly recommended and even considered sound investments, many lenders actually don’t require one to get a loan. So are they necessary or a nuisance, and what happens after you get a lengthy report?
What’s Covered and What’s Not
Your home inspector will be checking out the ins and outs of your home to see that everything is up to code and nothing has fallen into disrepair. Expect the exterior report to detail the walls, foundation, grading, garage or carport, and roof. The interior inspection will cover plumbing, electrical, HVAC, large appliances, and bathroom. There are a few aspects which are not inspected: the interior of walls, pipes or sewer lines, or chimneys, and behind an electrical panel.
The Home Inspection Contingency
The home inspection contingency is a provision for any unforeseen, costly repairs. If serious defects are revealed through an inspection, the buyer is able to back out of a purchase offer, without penalty.
Striking a Deal
If the results of the home inspection come back with red flags, not all is lost and you still have some options. First, if the issues are too costly to fix, you can walk away from the deal as long as that inspection contingency was a part of the original contract. Second, you can also do some finagling—you can ask the seller to fix the problems (in which case you would want to have a second inspection for those repairs), pay you to fix the problems, or just reduce their asking price.
At the end of the day, you might get a glowing inspection report back, and in that case you’ve paid hundreds of dollars for nothing but peace of mind. But in the more likely event issues are discovered, the cost of a home inspection is a small price to pay in comparison.
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