Pre Purchase Home Inspection: 7 Key Reasons to Hire a Home Inspector

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Pre Purchase Home Inspection: 7 Key Reasons to Hire a Home Inspector

The median home price in the United States is approximately $199,200, but many homes cost far more. If you’re like most people, the prospect of spending so much money on a place to call your own can feel daunting at best.

That’s why you need to make sure you’re making the best investment possible. So, how do you do that? You start by touring homes in your area and finding ones that work best for your needs.

But once you find your dream home, don’t rush into the buying process. Make sure you know what you’re getting into by scheduling a pre-purchase home inspection. Here are a few reasons every homebuyer needs to schedule an inspection before closing on a house.

1. Keeps You Safer

Cosmetic issues are often easy to find, but they’re relatively harmless. They don’t pose a threat to anything other than your personal sense of style.

However, structural and hidden issues can put you and your loved ones at risk unless you get them taken care of before you move in. The only way to find out about those less-visible issues is to hire a home inspector.

They look beyond the cosmetic problems and inspect the quality of the house itself. This means they’ll look at everything from the roof to the electrical system and that can make all the difference.

According to this article, electrical issues are one of the leading causes of house fires. Buying a house with a subpar electrical system puts everything else at risk. With a pre-purchase home inspection, you’ll know about those issues before you close on the property.

2. Makes It Easier to Negotiate Pricing

Negotiation is part of the homebuying process. As the buyer, you’re free to negotiate a lower price with the seller, but you’re’ not always guaranteed to get that lower price.

A pre-purchase home inspection can give you the leverage you need to better negotiate with the seller. When you know what repairs need to get taken care of as soon as possible, you can ask for the cost of those repairs to get deducted from the purchase price.

The inspection report gives you the evidence needed to urge the seller to agree. The more issues the inspector finds, the more money you’ll have to spend to repair them once you own the house. The seller would be unreasonable to expect you to pay the full price for a house riddled with repair issues.

3. Gives You Insight Into Future Repairs

The inspection report outlines the repairs that need to get taken care of before you move in. But it also outlines the repairs that you can expect to deal with in the future.

You’ll find out about the condition of the roof, the windows, the HVAC system, and other major appliances that may need replacing in the next few years. Depending on the extent of the damage, you may want to look for a different house altogether.

If you choose to buy the home anyway, you’ll at least have an idea of what you can expect. This will give you the information you need to budget accordingly and start saving for those major repairs as soon as you close on the home.

4. Lets You Find Problems the Seller Missed

Most sellers want to set their homes up for success and take care of minor repairs before putting the house on the market. But that doesn’t mean they catch all the damage. Far from it!

By scheduling an inspection prior to buying the house, you’re able to find the problems the seller missed. This makes the negotiation process easier, but it also lets you know what you’re getting into should you decide to buy the house.

Remember, buying a fixer-upper is fine as long as you’re willing to put the time and money into the repairs. But buying a home you think is in perfect condition only to discover that it needs major work can wreak havoc on your finances.

5. Identifies Signs of Insect and Pest Infestations

Insects and pests are hard for even seasoned homeowners to detect. They hide in the walls or attic and can cause damage to the house if they’re not dealt with soon enough.

Your pre-purchase inspection will also look for signs of current and previous infestations so you know what risk factors you’re dealing with before closing on the house.

If there’s a current infestation, you can work with the seller to get them to take care of the pest removal. But if there’s evidence of a previous infestation, the inspection will give you insight into the types of critters you’ll want to watch for.

6. Gives You Peace of Mind

When you know what to expect from the house, you’ll save yourself stress throughout the buying process. Instead of wondering what you’ll need to budget for, you’ll know exactly how well maintained the house is.

This makes the closing process easier and takes much of the mystery out of buying a home.

7. Provides You with an Easy Way Out

If the home inspection goes well, you’re ready to close on the house. But if the inspector finds tons of damage or discovers that the house may be unsafe, you might want to walk away from the table.

Without an inspection report, this can be particularly hard. You’ve gone so far through the process that backing out just doesn’t seem fair to you or the seller.

But with a house inspection report, you’ll have the evidence you need to justify walking away.

See the Benefits of a Pre-Purchase Home Inspection Yourself

A pre-purchase home inspection is the best way to make sure you know precisely what you’re getting into before you close on a house. It shows possible safety issues, gives you insight into future repairs and helps you make the best choice for you and your family.

Before you sign on the dotted line, schedule an inspection with a licensed home inspector.

Once you buy your dream home, check out our latest posts for great tips and tricks for making the property your own.

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