Why A Home Inspection Is An Absolute Must When Buying A Home

In the 1986 Tom Hanks comedy, The Money Pit, every home buyer’s worst nightmare comes to life. A couple buys a house thinking it’s a great deal only to find that they are saddled with costly repairs that destroy any financial gain they might have seen. It’s meant as a comedy, but the film is a lesson for home buyers.

The truth is that a home inspection is an absolute must when buying a home. Re/Max Northstar wants you to understand why getting a home inspection before you finalize the sale might actually be the best move you make in the entire process.

Pay A Little Now, Or Pay A Lot Later

A home inspection will cost you some money, probably a few hundred dollars. But, choosing not to spend money on an inspection can be incredibly costly down the road. Imagine having to rewire a house or replace most of the plumbing. It’s a guarantee that those repairs will cost you a lot more than the cost of the inspection you should have had done.

Don’t Judge a Home By Its Cover

Home sellers know how to make their home look great. Problems with the plumbing, wiring, or overall structure of the house may not be readily apparent when you go for a visit. That’s why a home inspection is so vital: to reveal those problems that may not show up at a superficial glance.

You can even do part of a home inspection yourself. Walk around the outside of the house. Do you see any of these problems:

• Water pooling around the house.
• Damaged siding.
• Paint that is chipped or peeling.
• Broken gutters.

These are all signs that the house may not be in tip-top shape!

Home Inspections Can Save You Money Before You Buy

There are two ways that home inspections can save you money before you buy a house. The first is it might give you leverage to negotiate a better deal. If a home inspection reveals damage, you are in a better position to negotiate a lower price on the home. You might even be able to back out of a bad purchase if an inspection reveals problems (and you have that language written into a purchase agreement).

The other way that an inspection could save you money is that many standard contracts require the seller to make repairs before the sale is finalized. That means that you are off the hook for repair costs. That can save you a lot of money down the road. If the seller is not willing to make that arrangement, it might give you negotiating power to lower the cost, knowing you’ll have to make repairs.

Knowing Is Half the Battle

Buying a house can be a stressful experience. You’ll want to do as much research as you can before making such a big commitment. Knowing what you are buying is half the battle. A home inspection can tell you a lot about the property before you make a financial commitment. At Re/Max Northstar, we believe a home inspection is a vital part of the sales process. We encourage all our home buyers to make that an essential piece of your new investment.