What buyers and sellers need to know about a home inspection?

Posted on Jan 30th 2021



Buyers and sellers should know about home inspection because it will help you in the process as you move forward.

Read this article to learn how a home inspection works and which essential points you need to know.

Home inspection for buyers

As a buyer of a home, you need to following things about home inspection.

How to choose a home inspector?

Home inspectors play a vital role in real estate transactions, and it is crucial to choose the right inspector for your home purchase.

To be satisfied with your home purchase, choose home inspectors using the following practices.

- Get a reference from your real estate agent for a good home inspector.

- It would be best to affirm that the company does only home inspections and not any other related job like home repairing and renovation.

- Find out what is included in the deal and how long it will take.

- Verify that you can accompany the home inspector with you for the inspection.

- Request for an inspection report and compare the cost of hiring for different companies.

What are reasonable inspection requests?

Some inspections are entirely legit and expected, but some requests are not reasonable to make and should be avoided. 

some unreasonable requests to ask a seller to include are:

- Renovation and cosmetic issues.

- Anything under one hundred dollars.

- A broken window which you saw before making an offer.

- Cracks in floor, loose fixtures, railings, and other minor issues.

- Minor water and yard problems which can be easily fixed

 

How to negotiate after a home inspection?

Sometimes getting credits for the repairs are better than the essential maintenance because credits are comfortable for sellers than the trouble of finding maintenance specialists and getting the repair done.

Trust your agent for negotiations because he knows better what repairs and what can be done quickly, and it will not threaten the deal.

Don’t be the buyer who thinks an inspection can give you a punch list for the seller. A home inspection aims to know major structural, mechanical, and safety issues of the home.

Preparing a home for inspection as a seller:

If you have moved out of the house, make sure that the light remains on. Kindly ensure all lights are working by changing them before the inspection. The inspector needs to know. Make sure that all areas of the home are accessible to the monitor.

Take your clothes out of the closets so that the inspector can see inside them. Eliminate things from cellar walls so they can be assessed for breaks and water entrance zones. If there is access to the storage room, ensure it is open. 

If it's not too much trouble, change the channels to your heater and leave any assistance labels so the investigator can see them. If your house is empty, ensure the power is on and fuel so the system can be reviewed.