Why have a home inspection?

I am working on a transaction that is subject to a property inspection being satisfactory to the buyer. "This is something that I recommend to each of my buying clients. Questions come up, such as "Who pays for that?" "How much is it?" Why should I get one? Everything looks okay." Well, here is my two cents... First of all, the Buyer is the one who usually pays for the home inspection. There may be a special arrangement made that the Seller pays for it, but as it is for the Buyer's benefit, it is usually at his/her cost. Prices vary for home inspections, but as of today, you would be looking in the $450 and up range for a home inspection. There may be cheaper ones out there, but that's an average in my area. BUYER So why a home inspection? Here is what I tell my clients: A home inspector's job is to find deficiencies in a house/property. Whether the house is brand new, or is 100 years old, the inspector is going to find something wrong with it. That is what they are trained for. The average inspection will take around two hours or so, depending on how detailed the inspection is. After the inspection is complete, the inspector usually gives you a document (paper or electronic) to let you know what he/she has found. Some inspectors like to have your there during the whole inspection, while others like to have you there at the end of the inspection so that they can show you in person what they have found. The inspection should show you what needs to be done right away, and what should be done within a couple of months or years, or longer down the road. It should show you any major deficiencies such as structural, electrical, plumbing, or other things like the possibility of mold or asbestos. Some inspectors now have infrared scanners which can show you how energy efficient the house is, among other things. Okay, so your possible new to you dream home is not perfect. Now what? This is where the Buyer does his/her homework. The Buyer has to decide how bad the deficiencies are; how much is the Buyer willing to spend on fixing the issues; is the Buyer willing to walk away from the transaction because of the deficiencies: or, is the Buyer going to want the Seller to help pay for repairs. The Buyer could decide that they want the property anyways and will deal with things later. The Buyer could decide that they want to split the cost of repair with the Seller, and that would have to be negotiated. The Buyer could do some homework, getting costs to repair, and set themselves us a budget to get things done at their own pace. The Buyer could also decide that the cost to repair would be too costly and walk away from the deal. I like to have my clients have an idea of what the future has in store for them. Owning your own home comes at a cost. Repairs, maintenance, and all that are part of owning a home. How much a person wants to pay for those costs is up to them. For example, Mr. and Mrs. Buyer might be buying a house that costs them $200,000 to purchase, but the inspection brings up a concern about the age of the furnace. This is Mr. and Mrs. Buyer's dream house, so they know that they will have to budget for a new furnace sooner than later. This works out fine with their plans so they go ahead with the purchase. If it was going to be too much for them, they could walk away from the deal (as long as they had a subject to property inspection condition), and find their next dream home that will hopefully be in better condition. SELLER Why would a seller get a home inspection? In a competitive Buyer's market, a Seller that has already had a home inspection done may be one step ahead of his/her competition. A) You can show potential buyers what the condition of the house is, inspection wise, when they come to look at the property; and B) You could already address some of the concerns that the property inspection brought up. For example, I was selling my house and had an inspection done beforehand. The inspector showed some minor issues with some electrical outlets, so I got them taken care of right away. I showed this to potential Buyers and it helped give them more peace of mind. It ended up saving them some money, AND some time as they did not have to order an inspection. We just got the deal done. MORAL OF THE STORY Have I had deals collapse where I represented the Seller and the property inspection showed defects that the Buyers found unacceptable? Yes. However, it is best to know before money exchanges hands, and before people feel like someone was hiding something and people get upset and lawyers get involved. Disclose, disclose, disclose. And do your homework before you buy or sell. You will sleep much better at the end of the day.