Congratulations! Your offer has been accepted! When you are about to enter the journey of homeownership, one of the first and most important steps you will take is getting your new home professionally inspected. This is done to make you fully aware of the condition of the home. These inspections will look for water leaks, the condition of the roof, foundation issues and life expectancy of the appliances.
Most buyers are not licensed builders, and they do not know what to look for. Home inspections help to ensure hidden issues can be found before they become the new buyer’s issues to deal with. This helps the buyer and seller both come to an understanding of how they will move forward. The inspection is usually a contingency for purchase. Meaning that the buyer has time to back out or renegotiate the deal before continuing to move forward if issue do arise during the inspection.
The inspection is done prior to the appraisal. The inspection cost is not included into your closing costs and is not always mandatory, but it is always a great idea to have one done.
There are multiple benefits for having a home inspection done for the buyer:
- Helps buyers feel confident about their purchase.
- Home inspections can help buyers to plan ahead.
- Homebuyers may be able to ask less for the home.
- Home inspections advise you of potential issues and future home improvement costs
- They also allow you to become more familiar with the structure of the property
- If you are not happy with the inspection report you can back out of the deal without penalty or losing your earnest money deposit
The home-buying process can be intimidating but having a home inspection done will bring peace of mind to both the seller and the potential buyer.