Home Inspections…do they matter?
Home inspections; what are they and should you perform one prior to purchasing a home? For starters, buying or selling a home is one of the single, largest monetary investments a person will make in their lifetime. It’s where you’ll live for years to come, possibly growing a family, maybe downsizing as you sail into retirement, or maybe it’s even just an investment property designed to create passive income. Whatever your purpose for a move, considering existing problems lurking behind the scenes and future home maintenance needs is an important part of the decision-making process. While there is always risk involved in purchasing a home, performing a home inspection is a great way to enhance your knowledge of existing problems or potential repairs that may be necessary in the near future before committing to spend your hard earned money.
The troublesome part about this has become the current real estate market; it’s insane. This crazy, strong seller’s real estate market has resulted in multiple offer situations leaving buyers to figure out creative ways to be more competitive - one of those key ways is to shorten or, even waive, home inspections. With sellers in the driver’s seat and buyers struggling to find that competitive edge there is, inherently, more risk squarely on the buyer’s shoulders.
One tactic we’ve found successful when trying to minimize the risk our buyers take on while keeping them competitive against the multitude of other offers is to do a pre-offer inspection. This is an option that more and more home inspectors are offering in an attempt to help buyers make educated decisions about the homes they’re purchasing. A pre-offer inspection is typically a shortened version of a traditional inspection that will look at the major aspects of a home. This gives buyers an opportunity to have more information about the possibility of major repairs they should be aware of prior to considering a waived inspection.
Risk tolerance is up to the buyer. While I would never, personally, recommend waiving your right to an inspection, each buyer must make that decision for themselves. And to remain competitive in this crazy market, it may be a necessary evil to get you into your next home.
Before making any big decisions, we’d love to provide a free buyer consultation to anyone interested in finding out how to manage your risk as a buyer, and what it takes to get an offer accepted in today’s market. Happy buying!
- Josh Yskes, Associate Broker, GRI
article copied from On The Move w/Josh & Chip newsletter, Q3 - 2022
