Did you buy your home without a Home Inspection? You can still get one!

There are significant benefits to getting a Post-Purchase Home Inspection

These days many people are buying homes and waiving the home inspection - or at a minimum getting a walk-through inspection or brief pre-offer inspection - in order to make their offer more attractive. They are thinking that the market is so competitive that it is worth the risk just to be able to have more of a chance of being considered by the seller in these many multi-offer situations. And to some degree they are right - fewer contingencies can make your offer more attractive. That’s something to discuss with a realtor. Here, we’ll discuss the implications of waiving the inspection contingency, and what you can do if you already bought a home.  

When you waive a home inspection contingency, you’re going to forego any financial recourse on any defects present in the home - you’ll be paying to fix those. But Home Inspections also pick up safety hazards, as well as identify maintenance items and future repair items so you can make the home safe, take care of it, and budget for the next things you’ll need to do on the home.

That’s where a post-purchase home inspection comes in. We’ve been doing many of them over the past few years, and we’re finding that our clients are appreciative of the opportunity to get a comprehensive understanding of the condition of their home. Every once in a while we find some significant things that are very frustrating for the buyer who’s already closed on the home, but mostly we’re identifying areas that can be improved to prevent injuries and hazards, repair items, and things to add to your budget when it comes time to replace them. We also spend a fair amount of time discussing aspects of the type of construction, plans our clients might have for renovation or expansion, and other aspects of the home.

Here are the top 5 reasons to get a Home Inspection after you have purchased your home:

1. Safety Hazards: This is the number one reason to inspect the home. Your family’s health is, after all, the most important. We identify electrical hazards, falling hazards, structural hazards, and other items that might endanger your family. This is a great way to help make sure that the place you’ve moved into is safe for years to come. 

2. Health Hazards: We study the history of building materials and methods of construction and we know what to look for that might present a health hazard - like asbestos, mold, radon, water quality, and others. A post-purchase home inspection can identify components that might present a health hazard so you can develop a plan on how to handle them. Your home inspector should be able to discuss these concerns with you and help point you in the right direction to deal with them, if present in the property.

3. Pest activity: A post-purchase home inspection can identify past or current problems with pests- animal activity or insect activity- and help you figure out a plan for how to deal with them.

4. Maintenance: Home Inspectors know what goes wrong in homes over time, and how to prevent them. Preventative maintenance will save you from spending large amounts of money and prevent headaches over the life of your home, so a home inspector’s advice can be invaluable.

5. Future repairs: Home Inspectors know how long components and systems are expected to last, and a home inspection can help you understand what will most likely fail in the near, medium, and more distant future. This can help you plan for future repairs and replacements.

The home purchase process is a big deal! It can be overwhelming and the heat of the real estate market can really affect how you proceed with home buying. Please understand that this article is in no way condoning the waiving of a Home Inspection.  We’re NOT saying: don’t worry, you don’t need a home inspection contingency  - what we ARE saying is: Get a home inspection, and if it has to be after you close, at least you’re getting one - and not missing out on it completely- so that you can identify health and safety hazards and plan for the future. Feel free to contact us and let us know if you have any questions. If you bought a home recently, or even if you've owned a home for some time, consider getting an inspection, we’re confident that you’ll benefit from the value a home inspection provides.