Why Are Home Inspections So Important?

Home inspections are an important part of every real estate transaction. Today, we want to give you a little more insight into how the inspection fits into the home buying process.

A home inspection helps the buyer understand the condition of the home and its systems. The inspection will reveal where those systems are at in their lifecycle and identify any items that will cost you money to repair or replace in the short and long run.

Inspections are generally done with a professional, licensed inspector. The cost varies from $250 to $600 depending on the size and value of the home.

A critical factor in every winning offer is when you should actually do the inspection. In a market like Seattle's, homes have review dates within 10 days of hitting the market. As a result, we recommend that you pre-inspect the home, especially if you are serious about winning the home in a multiple-offer situation.

By ordering an inspection before you make an offer, you remove the inspection contingency and make your offer more appealing to the seller. You will also know what you are getting into because you know what the cost and condition of that home is, and you can make your offer based on that information.

There are some instances where a home does not have a review date. To save yourself some money, wait until you are under contract on a home to do the inspection. Give yourself a five to 10-day window to perform that inspection. From there, you will decide which repairs you need to ask for.

We do not recommend waiving the inspection. There are cases when buyers try to do that. It’s really a risk-assessment decision for that buyer. You need to understand what the worst case scenario is.

If you waive the inspection, you won’t know much about the house going into the purchase, so your offer price will not be dependent on your knowledge about the house. If something pops up after you buy the home, then it’s up to you to repair the problem.

A lot of times, people choose to waive the inspection because they do not want to pay for an inspection. It is actually much more costly to waive an inspection and then find something wrong with the house than it is to pay a couple hundred dollars for the inspection in the first place.

Hopefully, you now have a better idea of how important home inspections are.

If you have any more questions or would like more information about our current market, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!