Home buyers - Understanding Home Inspections

By ROB SWAN, Contributing Writer, Qualifying Broker | Swan Realty

Buying a home, whether it be a vacation home or your primary residence will be one of the largest investments that you will make in your lifetime so not making mistakes along the way is critical and a home inspection is a big part of that.

I want to start this out by saying that all used homes have issues, so once you understand that, don’t be surprised to uncover defects as you proceed through your inspection process. The goal is to identify those that matter to you and those that don’t. At the top of the list of issues that matter should be health and safety issues followed by structural issues.

In your purchase agreement (unless you opted out of it) there is a time period in which you have a right to inspect all aspects of the home. This range of things that can be inspected is unlimited and can include the home itself, the neighborhood, applicable zoning, water access, sewer functionality, radon levels etc.. If you as the buyer uncover something undesirable or defective that you would like remedied you can ask for a repair or a monetary compensation credit at closing. Keep in mind that at that point it becomes a negotiable item and the seller can agree, disagree, or attempt to meet you somewhere in the middle. If a resolution cannot be negotiated then the sale will terminate and the buyer’s earnest money will be refunded.

As a buyer it is important to understand that buying a home is a two way street. Acting in good faith and being reasonable with your requests will go a long way in getting the seller to agree. Buyers who nit pick and ask for repairs or compensation on every item in the inspection report are rarely accommodated and often end up irritating the seller.

Inspections can be done by a licensed inspector, a contractor, yourself or a combination of all three if you wish. If you do hire a licensed inspector, be sure to obtain the cost, scope of work and the timeframe before agreeing. Also note that you will most likely be required to pay the inspector out of pocket.

If you have additional questions in regard to inspections please feel free to contact us at any time. n

Rob Swan

Qualifying Broker, Swan Realty

Office - 575-613-4243

SwanRealtyinc.com