1. Gives You An Unbiased View Of The Home
First and foremost, you can only trust your own home inspector to give you an unbiased perspective on the condition of a home. Your real estate agent may have good intentions, but they’re not an inspector – and can’t check for most structural issues and defects.
And, in the same vein, the seller and their real estate agent are only interested in making a sale – so they’re not likely to give you any insights into potential issues with a home. Therefore, a home inspector is critical. They work directly for you, and will judge the condition of a home without any biases, helping you understand if there are any major things you should be concerned about.
2. Helps Save Money & Negotiate the Deal
Let’s say you hire a home inspector for $400, and they identify that a home you’re interested in is in overall good shape, but finds that the furnace has a cracked heat exchanger.
The repair will cost $1,200, so you negotiate with the seller, and tell them you will buy the house if they repair it themselves – or knock $1,200 off the sale price.
They agree – and, just like that, your home inspector has saved you $800! Your situation may not be this cut and dry, but a home inspector will almost always be able to save you some money, and help you identify potentially-costly issues.
3. Helps You Plan for the Future
Your home inspector may note that there is not an issue with the home currently, but that there could be one in the future. For example, the roof may be 15 years old, and require replacement in 5 years or so. This will help you budget for future repairs, and ensure that the home you’re interested in is truly within your price range.
4. Helps Ease Your Mind
Most of all, a home inspection allows you to know that you’ve done your due diligence, and that the home you’re buying is, overall, in great shape. Without a home inspection, you’ll never have this peace of mind, and you’ll always be waiting for something to go wrong.
