Home Inspection - What to Expect

You’ve found a house and made an offer. Congrats! But it’s not quite time to celebrate yet.

It’s not time to make sure this is the right house for you. At the advice of your agent, your offer likely has a list of conditions that must be satisfied before you agree to proceed. These often include obtaining a final mortgage approve (even though you were pre-approved) and several inspections of the home and it’s systems.

When it comes to inspections, we often want to inspect every detail of the home you are purchasing. There’s a lot going on in your home that we might not have been able to see during a showing. A professional home inspection may include a detailed inspection of the attic spaces and important components like the electrical, water management and sewer lines.

How do you know what they will be inspecting? You and your REALTOR® would have reviewed the Ancillary Services document and decided which conditions to include in your offer.

Why not just select all the items in Ancillary Services document? While we would like to inspect every system in full detail, we are often restricted by the cost and the time. While you may want to hire a plumber, electrician, fireplace specialist, furnace specialist, roofing company, structural engineer (and more) to come see your home, this would likely cost several hundred dollars per inspection. Often a buyer will choose to hire a professional Home Inspector who has a general knowledge of all these areas to inspect the home first. If they have concerns with a particular item, maybe hiring a specialist . A home inspection, depending on the options you choose, may cost somewhere between $450-600.

As an inspector's schedule can be booked up for several weeks at a time, there may not be a lot of flexibility on their time and availability to conduct your inspection. You may be required to arrange your work schedule to attend the inspection walk through.

A home inspection will typically take place in the morning or afternoon. The inspector will spend approximately 3 hours at the home on their own and then prepare an inspection report (which often includes photos and/or video) . At the end of the inspection is your scheduled time for the inspector to meet with you and explain their findings. This is a great time to ask questions and walk through the home to learn more about their report.

The report is a great resource to keep for when you own the home. It can help you prioritize which weekend projects to take on first, but also provides some advice on things to maintain in great working order.

Most home inspections have 10+ items identified on the report. It's just a matter of determining how serious the items are. Some can be minor maintenance items, while some can require investment to repair. You may want to research further, conduct additional inspections, receive quotes from contractors or even negotiate further with the seller. Your REALTOR® can suggest options.

So what happens if the report identifies some major issues? As your agent likely mentioned, the seller is less likely to negotiate on items in plain view, disclosed in advance and those taken in consideration when pricing the home or when accepting your offer. However, an item that wasn’t expected may be a surprise to them as well. Ask your agent to continue the conversation with the sellers. Maybe there is a fair solution that works well for all parties that would allow this agreement to proceed.

If the report just has too many red flags, it’s your decision to proceed or not. If you’re not comfortable, let’s notify the seller that our conditions have not been satisfied and continue looking for a different home that will better meet your needs.

In the end, the house has to be right for you.