Buyer? Seller? Yes – you need a home inspector!
Hiring a Home Inspector is a task that most first-time home buyers aren’t familiar with. It is a very important step in the process of making the right decision of whether or not to make an offer or to purchase. A common occurrence is when the seller has had an inspection performed by their own home inspector and the buyer feels that something may be incorrect with the inspection, or may question if the inspector is properly certified with official qualifications. Can the buyer hire their own home inspector before making an offer as well?
Yes, and it’s usually a good idea to do so. The reasoning could be for peace of mind, sketchy details, or lack of information or documentation for the home inspection. To be sure that the home you’re interested in purchasing is actually in good quality and won’t have future insurance problems, you should request that you would like to have your own home inspector perform an inspection on the home. You will need to have the seller’s permission to have your home inspector perform the inspection.
As a seller, a pre-listing inspection is usually performed to evaluate the current condition of the house and to see if there are improvements that need to be made prior to listing the house for sale.
Why get a Home Inspection?
Home inspections are important. By allowing a qualified and certified individual to evaluate and inspect the home’s systems, a buyer or seller have a game plan on how they wish to approach the buying or selling process. Additional services like indoor air quality, mould detection, and thermal infrared inspections are usually offered by inspectors as well.
Should I use the Seller’s Home Inspector?
The fear that buyers have from a seller initiated inspection is that the seller may have requested a very simple inspection allowing defects to go undetected and remain undisclosed to a buyer, whether it’s on purpose or not. Having a buyer-initiated inspection will increase confidence in the purchase, and some sellers may prefer that as well.
