A home inspection is the buyer’s last opportunity to discover problems with the house before purchasing. And it’s a chance for the seller to address those problems and negotiate pricing with the buyer.
In this article (Skip to…)
As a home buyer, the home inspection is your last chance to uncover defects with the house — and potentially get the seller to pay for them — before sealing the deal.
According to the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), here’s the full list of what a certified home inspector will review:
The buyer usually pays for a professional home inspection. However, on making an offer, some insist the seller pays. So that’s an item for negotiation.
HomeAdvisor regularly publishes nationwide average costs for home inspections.
An average home inspection costs between $280 and $401 depending on the location and property.
As with most things in life, the cheapest inspector isn’t always the best — especially if your state doesn’t license home inspectors. Make sure yours is sufficiently qualified and experienced to do a good job.
Choosing an ASHI member may add some reassurance about your inspector’s competence and ethical standards.
Careful buyers — or ones alerted to potential problems by the inspector — may want to commission further home inspection reports from specialists concerning the possible presence of:
An average home inspection generally takes between two and four hours, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Why not? Ask your inspector if they’d mind you coming along. Few inspectors object.
It’s in your interest as a home seller to provide quick and easy access to everything on that home inspection checklist. Here are some ways you can help:
A home inspection checklist can be a valuable tool when you’re selling a property. If you know what an inspector’s going to be looking for, you can sort out minor issues in advance.
Of course, nobody’s expecting perfection. It’s very rare to see a blemish-free home inspection report. And it may be you’ve already negotiated over some known issues and they’ve been reflected in the price.
However, cherry-picking small problems that are quick, easy, and inexpensive to fix can drastically shorten the list of defects a report turns up. And the shorter that list, the better the chances of your sale closing without quibbles.
Certified home inspectors are people, too. And just like everyone else, they associate a clean, sweet-smelling house with homeowners who care for their property. It will do you no harm if the inspection starts off from that perspective.
If the home inspection report showed only minor and expected problems, the home buying process should continue as planned.
If your home inspector uncovers safety or structural issues, you’ll have a more important decision to make: Should you still buy the home?
If you do want to move forward, you’ll need:
Home inspections provide valuable information before you buy a home. But they can help you make decisions after closing on the home, too. Your home inspection report could serve as a guide to scheduling and planning future repairs.
For example, if the report noted the HVAC system was 15 years old and used an inefficient blower, you’ll know to start planning ahead for replacing the system in the next few years.
If you’d like to buy a home warranty to protect systems in your home, your home inspection could help you decide what level of protection to buy. Some warranties let you choose which systems in your home to protect. Your inspection should show your home’s most vulnerable systems.
Most reports list dozens of defects. Some defect lists run into three figures. That’s because there’s no such thing as a perfect home, especially if the property is a few decades old.
Don’t worry too much about the length of the inspector’s list of problems; instead, pay attention to the severity of the problems.
Many issues, such as loose doorknobs or cracks in the paved driveway, will be so minor you won’t bother fixing them right away, even though you know they’re there.
But some issues can be deal-breakers: problems with the physical structure of the home, for example, or safety issues such as lead pipes or an improper installation of a furnace or water heater.
Talk to your home inspector and real estate agent about the best path forward if you discover these types of issues.
Mortgage lenders will need a home appraisal to assess the value of the home you’re buying. An appraisal is part of the borrowing process just like checking your credit score or debt-to-income ratio.
But this appraisal will not reveal specific details about the condition of the home. A home appraisal will be more concerned with the home’s location, size, and general condition.
Unlike a home inspector, the appraiser will not crawl around in the basement or climb onto the roof searching for problems.
Regardless if you’re a first-time home buyer or a seasoned homeowner, a professional home inspection is typically a good practice.
If you need homeownership advice, a rate quote, or any other service, click the link below to request personalized help for your home buying goals.
Authored By: Peter Warden The Mortgage Reports EditorPeter Warden has been writing for a decade about mortgages, personal finance, credit cards, and insurance. His work has appeared across a wide range of media. He lives in a small town with his partner of 25 years.