📍 You’re under contract. Now it’s time to take a closer look at the property you’re buying.
The home inspection helps you learn more about the home’s condition before you move farther down the road.
🔍 What Is a Home Inspection?
A home inspection is a professional evaluation of the property’s visible and accessible systems and components.
The inspector is looking for defects, safety concerns, maintenance issues, and other conditions you should know about before moving forward with the purchase.
In our market, the buyer pays for the home inspection.
The inspection is part of your opportunity to learn more about what you’re buying and make informed decisions during the due-diligence period.
🚦 What Are We Really Looking For?
An inspection is not about expecting an existing home to be perfect.
It is also not an opportunity to hand the seller a wish list of every imperfect thing in the house.
But that does not mean important problems should be ignored.
This is the time to learn about concerns such as:
- Important safety issues
- Major repairs or defects
- Water intrusion or moisture concerns
- Electrical problems
- Plumbing concerns
- Issues with major systems or components
- Structural concerns
- Other conditions that could materially affect the property or your decision to buy it
The goal isn’t to find a perfect house. The goal is to understand what you’re buying.
📋 Inspection Reports Can Look Overwhelming
Inspectors document what they see, so even a well-maintained home can generate a long report.
That doesn’t automatically mean you’re buying a bad house.
We’ll help you look at the report as a whole and separate the items that deserve immediate attention from the routine maintenance and smaller items that may simply need to be handled over time.
And don’t throw that report away after closing. We often tell our buyers that the less urgent items make a very useful home-maintenance to-do list. You can work through them over time as you own and care for the property.
🛠️ What Happens If the Inspection Finds a Problem?
Finding an issue during the inspection does not automatically mean the purchase is over.
Depending on what is found and the terms of your purchase agreement, there may be several possible ways to move forward.
🔧 Ask the Seller to Address the Issue
You may request that the seller repair or otherwise address an important concern before closing.
💰 Request a Price Adjustment
In some situations, you may ask the seller to adjust the purchase price in lieu of making the repair so that you can address the issue yourself after closing.
🏠 Accept the Property As-Is
After learning more about an issue, you may decide it is something you are comfortable taking care of yourself. Not every item in an inspection report needs to become part of the negotiation.
🛑 Decide You Can’t Move Forward
If an issue is severe enough that you no longer feel comfortable purchasing the property, your contract may allow you to terminate during the applicable due-diligence period. If the contract is properly terminated according to its terms, your earnest money deposit may be refundable.
Our job is to help you understand what the inspector found, discuss the options available under your contract, and help you decide how you’d like to move forward.
⏰️ The Due-Diligence Deadline Matters
In our market, the standard home-inspection due-diligence period is commonly 10 business days, depending on the terms of the purchase agreement.
That period is important because your inspection-related rights and options are governed by the contract and its deadlines.
We’ll help you keep track of the applicable dates and make sure you understand when a decision or response is needed.
📝 What About Other Inspections?
Other inspections or evaluations may be requested based on the property, the home inspector’s findings, your concerns, or lender requirements.
Those may include things such as termite/WDO inspections, septic or well evaluations, structural assessments, roof or HVAC evaluations, pool inspections, or other specialized reviews.
Those additional inspections do not necessarily have to be completed during the 10-business-day home-inspection due-diligence period. The timing depends on the specific inspection, the contract, and any lender requirements that apply.
🚏 Before We Continue Down Inspection Trail...
Here are a few questions buyers often have about inspections.
💰 Who pays for the home inspection?
In our market, the buyer pays for the home inspection.
📋 Does a long report mean the house is in terrible condition?
No. Inspectors document defects, maintenance items, safety concerns, and observations, so reports can be lengthy even when many of the items are relatively minor. We’ll help you focus on what deserves the most attention.
🔧 Can I ask the seller to repair everything on the report?
You can discuss concerns with us, but the goal is not necessarily to ask the seller to correct every maintenance item or imperfection. We’ll help you focus on important safety issues, significant repairs, and the concerns that matter most to you.
🛑 Can I cancel because of the inspection?
That depends on the terms of your purchase agreement and whether the applicable requirements and deadlines are met. If the contract gives you the right to terminate based on inspection or due diligence and you follow those terms, cancellation may be possible and the earnest money deposit may be refundable.
📝 Do all other inspections have to happen within the same 10 business days?
No. Additional inspections or evaluations may be completed based on the property, your concerns, the inspector’s recommendations, or lender requirements. Their timing depends on the specific inspection and the terms that apply to your transaction.
⚠️ Caution: Inspection Reports Can Look Scary
A long inspection report doesn’t automatically mean you chose the wrong house.
Focus first on safety, major repairs, and the issues that could meaningfully affect your decision to purchase.
The smaller items can often become your running maintenance list after closing.
We’ll help you sort through the report so you can make a thoughtful decision instead of reacting to the page count.