What Is A Home Inspection Good For?
When I bought my first home I treated the home inspection with reverence. Really, I didn’t consider that we would actually buy the home until after I saw the inspection report. The whole process seemed unreal, tentative until I discovered that the house was not about to fall apart. Then it was real.
Now that I’ve seen about 100,000,0001 inspection reports and done a lot of home construction projects myself, the reverence is certainly gone. The inspection report is just a data-point now. A to-do list.
This is the natural arc of “home inspection importance”. For first time home owners, or for people who are not comfortable with home repairs, the inspection is likely the most important part of buying a house.
What imperfections are you signing up to live with?
What unknowns can be discovered?
What problems do you have to deal with now?
What problems will you have to deal with soon?
But for some grizzled veterans and DIY’s, the thought of paying someone else to tell them what they already know is waste of time and money
“I can tell the roof is old and the vents need repair.”
“I know the water pressure is low and the water heater needs to be replaced.”
“Yes, the upstairs bathroom vent is broken and I know there’s a model at Lowes, Aisle 15, Bay 12 that I really like.”
Me personally, I can now walk around a house and identify 80% of the potential issues myself. But I value a home inspector if for no other reason than I don’t enjoy going into strange attics or crawlspaces or looking at sewer lines to “discover” what’s going on there. I’m perfectly willing to pay a man to do this for me2.
Overcautious
Inspectors tend to be overcautious in their reports, recommending actions that no one will ever take or pointing out issues that no one will ever fix. They do this because they’re required to. Their job is to tell you everything they see, even if it doesn’t matter that much. You have a right to know. However, one of the silliest things I’ve ever seen on an inspection report was the inspector recommended that an entire, brand new custom-crafted wrap-around porch be replaced because over the next 20 years it’s possible that moisture flow might warp the wood. No one is going to do that. And indeed, the buyers ignored it on their own.
Inspection Contingency
Washington State Law allows for buyers to conduct a home inspection and then back out for any reason if they don’t like what they find. They can also request the seller make repairs or re-negotiate the deal based on what they find. This process is called the “Inspection Contingency”. The home sale is contingent upon the inspection results.
But in a competitive market, not all transactions work out this way.
Sellers are increasingly conducting their own inspections and offering the report to all potential buyers. Sellers do this to help with transparency and to lessen the likelihood of a buyer inspection surprise derailing any deals.
Buyers are conducting inspections before they go get under contract so their offer is more attractive with no inspection contingency
Buyers are foregoing the inspection altogether and rolling the dice with whatever the house has in store for them. I don’t ever recommend this, but some of my buyers have chosen to do this to win a house they felt good about.
Bottom line is that every home owner deserves a chance to know what they’re buying. For many that includes a professional home inspection. For others it’s walking around and peaking your head in the attic. Regardless, the last thing you want is a surprise after you move in.
Michael Perrone is a licensed managing real estate broker in Washington State and is the owner of The Perrone Real Estate Group. You can reach his office at 425-224-6040 or by subscribing and responding to these newsletters.
I may be rounding up to the nearest 100,000,000.
And because homeowner rarely go into these spaces, it’s worth it to have someone look at it before you buy a house. Mold, moisture, pest issues can fly under the radar and when they finally rear their ugly head, they can cost thousands of dollars to fix . Plus they’re gross and unhealthy to live with.