What to Expect During a Home Inspection
So your offer got accepted, YAY! Now what? One of the next steps is to quickly schedule a home inspection with a licensed home inspector. You want to do this sooner rather than later so you can find out if there are any major issues with the house before you go under contract. Even though most buyers are not asking sellers to address any issues in this current market, a home inspection is still necessary in my opinion. You definitely want to know what you are getting into before you make one of the largest purchases of your life.
Here are 4 things to expect during a home inspection:
Expect to spend a few hours and a few hundred dollars. Depending on how big the house is, a home inspection can last anywhere from 1-4 hours. The inspector will take their time to make sure everything in the house is working properly. Though an inspection is not required, it is highly recommended. On average, you can expect to pay around $500 for a home inspection.
Plan to use the time wisely. If you are buying the house, you should definitely attend the home inspection along with your agent. Since this will take a few hours, you should use the time wisely. This is one of the only other times you will get to see the house again before final walkthrough/closing day, so it’s a good time to bring other family members/friends to take a sneak peak at your new potential home. This is also a good time to take photos, measurements and notes of important things you may have missed the first time you saw it. But most importantly, I would use this time to talk to the home inspector so you can learn important things about the house and discuss any potential issues that may be of concern.
Get ready to make or break the deal. Once the inspection is over, the buyer will receive a lengthy home inspection report with all the findings. This will include everything, even the minor things like chipped paint. So don’t stress when you see the pages and pages of findings. Every home will have this, even a new construction home. It’s important to distinguish the major issues from the minor issues and only ask the seller to address the major ones such as structural or environmental issues. If you ask the seller for too much, especially in this market, it could kill the deal.
Walk away with peace of mind. Whether your home inspection came out clean or you found some pretty big issues, it will allow you to walk away with peace of mind. You can now sleep better at night knowing that you are buying a safe home OR you will be glad you dodged a bullet!
Overall, a house is always going to have some issues here and there. It’s just a problem you have to be willing to have if you want to be a homeowner. But stressing out over minor issues is never a good idea. Remember, there is always a solution for everything, so keep that in mind the next time you want to freak out about green carpet in the kitchen! True story.
If you need recommendations for home inspectors or have any questions about buying a house, let me know here.