Should I Get a Home Inspection?

You have found the house you love, you have placed an offer, it was accepted (yay!) and you showed your commitment by placing down your earnest money.

Now what?

Thankfully, the next business day after your offer is inspected you enter into a ten-day inspection window!

During this time you can pay for as many inspections as you would like on the home to get you a clear picture of what you are getting yourself into if you were to close on this home. 

Most of the time people stick with one to three types of inspections that cover the main parts of the home (which we will cover in a moment). 

During this window, the inspections will occur and you will get the inspection reports back. This will give you a breakdown of the issues with the home and recommendations on repairs.

These reports may include issues like water damage, aspects of the home that aren’t up to code, pest issues, foundation issues, or problems with water or septic systems. The possibilities are endless. A very thorough inspector will share in detail what they discover.

Whatever is discovered in the report, know that not everything has to be fixed.

WHAT DO I AFTER I HAVE THE INSPECTION REPORT?

You have three options: 

1.     DO NOTHING

You may not be worried about anything discovered. In this case, your agent will write up a contract stating that you have approved of the reports and do not want to negotiate repairs. The seller will sign it and you can move on with your home purchase.

2.     NEGOTIATE REPAIRS

This happens most often. Once you receive the report you can decide what you would like fixed and who should pay for/complete each repair. Your agent will draft up a negotiation contract stating what repairs you would like covered by the seller. The seller will then read the contract and will decide if they agree. If they do not, you will enter into a counteroffer situation where they will respond with what they feel is fair. You can go back and forth endlessly within the ten-day window. Once the ten-day window is closed you can no longer negotiate.

3.     WALK AWAY

 The beauty of the ten-day inspection window is that you can walk away without default. If you discover something about the home that would be a huge problem, you can decide this is no longer the home for you. 

For example, say the inspector notices a huge foundation issue. The home is slowly sliding, which would cause cracks and issues with the structural integrity of the home in the long run. In this fictitious home purchase, it’s estimated that to fix this issue it could cost around $100,000 in the long run. This is obviously not something you could negotiate to repair with a seller of a home valued around $300,000-$500,000+. In this case, you would most likely want to walk away to avoid headaches as a homeowner years down the road.

You would not need to forfeit your earnest money and can go back to searching for your dream home. 

WHAT INSPECTIONS SHOULD I GET? 

This will be dependent on your personal desires as well as the type of home you have.

GENERAL HOME INSPECTION 

Most often, people will at least choose to have a general home inspection. A home inspector will look throughout the whole home, including the attic and crawl space, for issues. They will create a report (oftentimes including pictures) of their findings with descriptions. This is a great way to get an overall picture of the state of the home you are purchasing. 

WELL AND SEPTIC INSPECTION

 If you live in a rural area you will oftentimes have a well or a septic system on your property. In these cases, it is a good idea to receive a well and septic inspection. Oftentimes these inspections are done at the same time.

During a well inspection the inspector will check for adequate water pressure, piping issues, or issues with the water quality. During a septic inspection, the inspector will look at proper drainage from the distribution box into the leech field, check the water level, and check the pipes for damages or blockages.

RADON INSPECTION

Radon is an invisible gas that was discovered in 1900. When radium breaks down it emits a gas that causes health issues when a person is exposed to it for long periods of time. It was discovered to be in the foundation of homes without proper ventilation. 

Now, radon inspection companies can place a device inside a home and detect the current radon levels. If the radon is above a certain level it needs to be fixed before you move into the home. If this is needed a radon company will install piping and a ventilation system to pipe the radon out of the home. 

We saw a home, that was lived in for over a decade, where the radon was obscenely high without the owner’s awareness. We always recommend a radon inspection!

HOW MUCH DO INSPECTIONS COST?

Of course, this number varies by inspection types, where you live, and what the cost is of the specific investor you chose. 

The more inspections you do, the more you will pay upfront but could save in the long run if you can negotiate with the seller to pay for some of the repairs. 

In Northern Oregon, where we serve in the Pacific Northwest, the most common types of inspections come out to around $500-$700 total. 

As always, make sure to do your research! You want an inspector that won’t break the bank, but also is very good at what they do. This is a very important part of the process!

Should I get inspections?

We will always answer with YES!

You always want to make sure that you know what you are getting when you buy a home. Issues can lurk under the surface or can be missed by an untrained eye. You do not want to purchase a home and then six months later face a huge bill for an issue that could have been discovered during an inspection.

If you have any questions about inspections or live in the Portland Metro area and would like a recommendation for inspectors feel free to reach out at (503) 583-2581.

Happy Inspecting!