Understanding Home Inspections

You did it! You searched all through your target neighborhoods, visited countless open houses, crunched the numbers on your offer, and beat out your competition. Well done. It's not an easy feat in the current seller's market we've found ourselves in over the last few years.

But here you are in escrow and it's now it's time to get past the pleasantries of the home and presentation and look under the hood to find the potential problems. Enter your preferred home inspector. They are a vital part of the real estate transaction and knowing the ends and outs of them will help you navigate the process much more easily.

Even if you are a home shopper still considering your options or a one day in the future homeowner, knowing what I'm about to tell you will give you all the knowledge you'll need to know when the time comes.

Picking Your Home Inspector

As mentioned above, the home inspection is one of, if not the most important part of doing your due diligence when it comes to buying your home. Thus, choosing the proper inspector and/or company is paramount.

While you've likely fallen in love with the home, it's easy to fall out of love if certain items come up in the inspection. Not knowing which items are deal-breakers can give you a false negative feeling about the home.

Having the right inspector to not only find issues but also properly diagnose them is the difference between getting the keys handed to you and starting the home buying process all over again.

Here is a checklist of things to help you choose:

• Get a few referrals from your real estate agent/broker
• Get referrals from friends/family members
• Research each inspection company
• Make sure they are licensed, bonded, and insured (and experienced)
• Compare costs with each company (Less isn't necessarily better when it comes to your home)
• Make sure the report covers the whole home
• See if the company does more than a general home inspection
• 90-day guarantees
• The company does NOT do repairs (Conflict of interest)

Day of the Home Inspection

Home inspections can take anywhere from an hour and a half to over 5 hours. This, of course, always depends on the type of home inspection being done and how big the home is.

It is always very important that you as the buyer try to be there for the home inspection in person even if you cannot be there the whole time. You want to make sure you are able to have the home inspector walk you through and point out everything they have found both large and small.

Now...brace yourself. Why? Because the home is not going to be perfect. In fact, between plumbing, electrical, the roof, and termites...it is likely that the home inspector will find something. It is also likely that the home inspector will find something that the current sellers didn't even know about. This brings us back to why it is so important to get one in the first place.

That being said, some homes are better than others. With new or old issues that are found in the home, comes the opportunity to negotiate with the seller on how those items will be handled. In essence, there are typically two different ways to handle them.

Repair or Credit

Mostly, asking for credit can be both beneficial to yourself as the buyer, but also the seller. Not many sellers are going to want to deal with repairs so it relieves them of the burden to do so. In addition, sometimes sellers will try to save money on repairing issues and passing on the bad quality craftsmanship to you. 

Ask Your Inspector

This goes back to why it is important to pick the right person to do your home inspection. There are many inspectors that operate like a robot, simply pointing out issues and explaining that it needs a repair or further investigation. This is sometimes due to liability.

Find an inspector with a soul. This type of inspector can be candid with which items are super common, need attention, or are huge red flags. 

Talk to your Agent

The next person in the room who has seen almost as many inspections as your actual inspector...is your agent. They will have similar experiences and advice on what to be concerned with and what is common. 

Your home inspection will likely have a few small items (especially if it is older) and hopefully only one or none of the big items. Those big items include issues with the roof, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, termite, and foundation.

Don't get distracted by the little things. Be focused on the big-ticket items that could cause problems in the future.

Your Inspection Requests

Sellers are always concerned with this part of the process. Will the buyers come back with a laundry list of everything that was mentioned on the inspection and cause the home to fall out of escrow?

What is reasonable in your inspection requests?

Well, every buyer is different. However, you typically want to make requests that are going to be accepted. This usually means you should consider leaving out any small cosmetic issues, any repairs under $100, and renovations you may be planning already. 

Let's Recap The Inspection

• Research the home inspector/company
• Choose your inspector
• Be present at the inspection
• Ask plenty of questions
• Decide on repairs or credit asks
• Trust your inspector and Agent to help guide you
• Request items that will get accepted

If you have any more questions about home inspections, the home inspectors that we use, or home buying and selling in general, feel free to reach out to the Brennan Real Estate Group. We are here as a real estate resource for you, your friends, and your family.