Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Many prospective buyers rush to finalize the purchase, only to find out the slew of structural inefficiencies in the home’s foundation later on. Hence, in most cases, a home inspection before buying a home is considered mandatory.
Home inspections provide a comprehensive report of your property, saving money and time in the process. For example, suppose the property you have your eyes set on requires maintenance costs that you might not be able to afford after the buy. In that scenario, a reputable home inspection will let you know your projected post-purchase finances to give you an ‘out,’ consequently safeguarding your long-term financial security.
The best part is that home inspection costs are a drop in the bucket compared to vital home repairs, which makes them a financially shrewd investment.
Below are five great reasons why you should invest in a comprehensive home inspection before closing the deal on your next home.
The structural stability of your house needs to be checked since any issues can lead to financial losses, anxiety, and inconvenience.
Major structural inefficiencies will test the capacity of your budget for the long haul. A single new roof, for instance, can cost as much as USD$10,000 on the market. Not knowing repairs like these can cause a serious dent in your budgeting.
Structural issues aren’t easy to detect. However, competent home inspectors reveal a lot about the exterior of a home–from windows and doors to downspouts and gutters. They also check the condition of balconies, driveways, garages, among other things. As a result, you get an unbiased and thorough report on the property’s structural and financial condition, allowing you to make the right choices moving on.
If the home is not up to the mark, a home inspection stops the buyer from taking any financial misstep. Upon receiving a detailed report of the home’s condition, you can also have the assurance that everything is on the table when you proceed to the negotiation phase.
What would you prefer? A modest home inspection cost of 500$ or a later home repair that’ll cost thousands of dollars?
Home inspection costs fall anywhere between USD$400-USD$500 on average. The ROI (ROI) on this amount is huge, as opposed to the amount of money you have to spend when major structural flaws in the property are revealed after the contract is signed.
One of the major benefits of arranging a home inspection before the buy is the leveraging power you get during negotiations.
For instance, if you have a home inspector’s property report at your disposal, you’ll have the upper hand in bargaining for a lower price. This information will come in handy when you’re buying a home that’s just out of your price range and need some important info to bring its value further down to meet your budget.
As an added precaution, you can also include an additional clause in the contract that allows you to back out on an agreement if the inspection comes up with issues.
After you finalize the contract with the seller, you’re under a legal obligation to follow through with the sale. Fortunately, a home inspection pads you from this irrevocable step.
Once the home inspector hands you the home inspection report, you can study it and decide whether renegotiations are needed or not. You can ask the buyer to have certain parts of the property repaired or you could propose for the home’s price to be dropped on grounds of certain unrevealed property costs and damages. If the buyers fail to honor the terms of the agreement, you can always back out of the deal.
According to a National Association of Realtors survey, 14% of property sales were never completed — home inspection being the third reason on the list.
A home is a work in progress. Things tear and waste away. That’s why you need to account for maintenance costs when buying a property. This amount depends on the home’s condition.
For example, a home with a lot of structural flaws will require more finances to maintain its condition, whereas a house with minimal issues will only cost little to stay in shape. If the inspector finds roofing damages, you may negotiate with the seller either the repair costs or the price of the home.
A home inspection can even help you find deferred maintenance expenses, helping you estimate the repairs required in the next 5 to 10 years.
Final Thoughts
A home inspection is an essential component of a home buying decision. You need to evaluate the full extent of renovation and repair costs and have an exit strategy to make sure you don’t make a wrong and irreversible move.
