The question of whether to get a home inspection or not often occurs in my conversations about Frederick real estate. Rewind to a few short years ago, when the real estate market was hot; buyers didn't dare ask for a home inspection. When they were in competition with 5 other offers, they were better off if they offered more than the list price, and skipped as many contingencies as possible.
Fast forward to today, when we've been in a buyer’s market for a few years. When the home has been on the market an average of 100 days, it’s probably had a couple of price reductions, and showings have slowed, this is the time for a buyer not to be shy. A home inspection is your right, and is almost always a good idea, even in a newly constructed home. Let me share a couple of stories to illustrate:
A. A New Townhouse
The buyer ratified an offer on a newly constructed townhouse, with the help of a buyer’s agent. Fortunately the buyer had a home inspection contingency in the offer. The afternoon of the inspection, the buyer was sitting in the living room with the inspector as he was finishing up with the last details of the report. They were shocked out of their plastic folding chairs when they heard the sound of a series of loud crashes and clangs from the garage. They all rushed out to the garage to see the jetted tub from the master bath sitting on the cement floor amongst the wet drywall rubble. With mouths wide open, they raised their astonished gaze to the huge hole in the ceiling.
As it turned out, the plumber had negected to connect the drainage pipe from the tub to the main in the wall. When the inspector filled the tub, then unplugged it, all that water drained into the floor and drywall. An hour later, the floor gave way. Who would have suspected it in a brand new house?
B. A Charming Historic Home
I spent a lovely 3 hours with a first-time buyer and my favorite home inspector. We were at a home with over $30,000 in renovations, all beautifully done. The home was about 80 years old. Because a series of fixes had been done by different electricians over the years, the electrical wiring wasn’t even grounded. All the most recent electrical work was done by a licensed contractor. He had just missed the fix of a previous fix which altered what had originally been a grounding line. Who would have suspected a licensed electrician would have missed it?
A Home Inspection Pays For Itself
The cost of a home inspection can be anywhere between $300 and $500 on the average house. When you find a major issue, you'll realize it's money well-spent. If you discover something that you just can’t live with, ie. a cracked foundation, the inspection is the contingency that gets you out of having to buy the home, and allows you to get your deposit back. If its a paragraph 21 item, and you still want the house, the inspection can be your leverage to get the seller to fix it.
I would also argue that it’s worth it even when you don’t find something major. It is worth the peace of mind. It is worth having a licensed professional going over your future home with a fine-toothed comb, teaching you all about the inward workings of your number 1 investment.
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The Highland Group
Chris & Karen Highland * 301-831-9947
Turning Point Real Estate
email us: isell4u2@msn.com
Text Us: 301-401-5119
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