On Second Thought- A Home Inspection

The moment an accepted offer is confirmed, there will be many decisions and thoughts that will go through a first-time home buyer's mind.  One of those thoughts will be on the inspection.  Well, hopefully the inspection.  I hesitated briefly, because there have been instances in which a buyer has opted out of an inspection.  For the experienced real estate professional, there are just too many things that can go wrong if an inspection isn't done by a home buyer.  Suffice it to say, even with an inspection, something can happen that is outside the scope of a home inspection.  So, for buyers, if you are thinking about not conducting an inspection, just because you want to save some money (estimated costs: $275-$500 your situation may vary),  it's important to understand three things about an inspection and why it is necessary. 

1.  Once a purchaser has signed on the dotted line at closing for the property, something can go wrong, it could happen not because it was necessarily negligence, intent, or ghosts.  Well, maybe ghosts, but I wouldn't repeat that.  As a matter of fact, just forget the ghost part. 
2.  During an inspection, any ad everything is going to get discovered.  From missing screws, rattle pipes, holes in walls, roofs with small leaks, and floors that are weakened, cracked or sunken.  It doesn't mean that the house is a dump as I suggested in a earlier blog :(http://makeyourbestoffer.blogspot.com/2012/11/your-house-is-dump-2012-by-wayne-d.html).  It means that unless the house is absolutely new (there are exceptions), there will be something wrong.
3.  An inspection that reveals problems in a home does not necessarily sound a death nil.  But, whatever an inspection may reveal prior to closing, there should be a sense of relief for a potential homebuyer, knowing something about the house that, while not perfect, is not ready to be torn down, or walk away from.

These three reasons are not all that there is to the home inspection.  But with this knowledge, a homebuyer can sort out in their mind their next step, based on the options that are available to them.  Here are some of those options:
1.  Walk away from the home-  Sometimes the so-called perfect home has too many problems.  While seemingly small to most buyers, to some other buyers, an estimate of $1000.00 in repairs is simply out of the question.  So, walk away, get your deposit back and continue searching for "the perfect home".
2.  Ask the sellers to make certain needed repairs. If they refuse, ask them to pay a portion of the needed repairs, reduce the price of the home, or provide a cash reimbursement at closing, where allowable by lender, if applicable.  If neither of these options seem to be agreeable, ask the seller to reduce the price of the home by an amount suitable to covering the repairs.
3.  Take the house as is.  Having completed the inspection of the home, knowing what you come to know about the problems the house has, you could just take it as is, and ask for nothing from the seller. 

In conclusion:  Whatever you decide after an inspection is worth the peace of mind compared to choosing to buy a home without an inspection.  The long term consequences for such a failure will have you kicking yourself for sometime to come.  It is my hope that you never have to do that, and that you will give getting an inspection on every home you buy, a second thought before you decide against doing so. 

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