Are Home Inspections Really Necessary?
June 24th, 2009 categories: Buyer Resource
“We have been through the home several times and do not see any issues. Do you think we should pay for a home inspection anyway?”
We ALWAYS suggest a home inspection when purchasing a Sonoma County home. For a reasonable fee (usually around $300 for a typical 3 bedroom home, and higher as the square footage and number of bedrooms increases) a professional will inspect your home, the electrical, appliances, roof, foundation, exterior, interior, etc. We see this as money well spent, as the inspectors can find problems most people would not know are problems or even know to look for.
If there are issues that are found during the home inspection, and they are large enough, you may be able to negotiate some sort of remedy from the seller. Do not plan on this, however we have seen it happen. This makes sense if you look at it like this. If you make an offer on a home that has some sort of concealed damage, you should be able to negotiate that situation. If you make an offer on a home that has damage that is readily apparent, this would be a much harder situation to convince the seller to negotiate, as you were aware of the issue.
We believe that it is in the seller’s best interests to negotiate with a potential buyer, because if that buyer goes away for whatever reason, the next buyer, who will likely have a similar home inspection, will likely find the same issue. And once the owner is aware of a problem, it is their legal obligation to disclose this information to the next buyer, ultimately leading to a similar closing price, with only more time spent in the deal.
We highly suggest Home Inspections with so many Bank Owned Homes and Foreclosures on the market today. Foreclosures are not necessarily in any worse condition than a home that is sold traditionally by an independent owner, but the bank or lender that owns the home in a foreclosure usually has no direct knowledge of the property for sale and therefore an independent assessment is a great idea, again, one that we highly suggest.
We also suggest you choose a Home Inspector that is certified by one of the national certification groups, such as ASHI, the American Society Of Home Inspectors or NACHI, the National Association Of Home Inspectors. These groups usually require their members to complete continuing education, technical training, etc. These groups are simply a benchmark that show a certain level of competency and proficiency. Wouldn’t you want to work with someone who has some level of measurable education and proficiency relative to others in their field?
Please visit Sonoma County Home Inspectors to find our list of recommended Home Inspectors. If you have any questions about Sonoma County Home Inspections, please contact us and we will be happy to help you find a trusted home inspector.
