How Home Inspection Works

Once the buyer orders a home inspection, your home is in the hot seat. Even if you’ve gone through the house with a fine-tooth comb and listed anything and everything on the seller’s disclosure, the home inspection might reveal issues that you weren’t aware of or are worse than you thought. It can be a stressful process for both sides as buyers and sellers await the results and then negotiate repairs or other issues that were revealed during the inspection.

To help ease your mind, property inspection Truginina walks you through what a home inspection is, what to expect, and how to be prepared when your house is under the microscope. News flash: no home is perfect. But you can take steps to ready yourself (and your home) for the home inspection to minimize unwanted surprises.

Much of the information that can be found about home inspections are focused on the buyers since they are the ones who order the inspection and use the information to ultimately decide whether or not to purchase a property. But as a seller, you may be just as (or more) nervous than the buyer. After all, it’s your house that’s being inspected, and it will be up to you to either make the repairs, offer credits or concessions, or refuse and potentially lose the sale as recommended by property inspection Truginina.

So, to help you understand just what you’re getting into, we spoke to the former president of the American Society of Home Inspectors and top real estate agents around the country to break down exactly what happens during a home inspection and how different outcomes can affect your home sale.

A home inspection is often discussed as if it’s a pass/fail test with sellers and buyers alike saying that they hope the home “passes inspection.” But in

the reality, the process is much more nuanced, and “passing the inspection” is a relative term that depends on individual home inspectors, buyers, and sellers.

In the process of closing a home sale, the buyer typically hires a home inspector to come to the house and perform a visual observation to confirm the state of the home and identify any issues that pose a health or safety issue that the buyer should be aware of before purchasing the home.

We’ll get into the nitty-gritty of what they look for a little later, but Tim Buell, the former president of the American Society of Home Inspectors, says “We look for things that are significantly deficient, unsafe, near the end of the service life, or not functioning properly.”

Property inspection Truganina provides a Standard of Practice that guides inspectors during a home inspection as they address everything from the exterior to the plumbing system. Home inspectors focus on health, safety, or major mechanical issues.

Remember, because an inspection is not a pass/fail test, it will open the door for renegotiation. You’re not obligated to fix anything, but the buyer can also walk away if they’re not satisfied.

When does a home inspection happen during a home sale?

According to property inspection Truginina, in a home sale, there can be two types of home inspections: A seller’s inspection and a buyer’s inspection. A seller’s home inspection happens before the home is listed. Some sellers choose to get their home inspected as they’re beginning to prepare their house for sale, so they can fix any potential issues beforehand and save time in the closing process. We’ll touch on the positives and negatives of a pre-inspection a little later.

A buyer’s inspection occurs after you’ve accepted a buyer’s offer but before closing the sale. After a home inspection, the buyer may be able to renegotiate their offer or request repairs if certain issues come up. In some cases, the buyer may walk away from the purchase if the home inspection reveals more issues than they’re willing to deal with.

A typical home inspection takes a few hours for an average-sized house. Then the report takes about three to four days to complete. The home inspector will go through the interior and exterior of the house to record any broken, defective, or hazardous issues.

Typically, the buyer and buyer’s agent are present during the home inspection, and often the seller’s agent. The home seller is allowed to stick around, but most industry experts advise against it. Sellers are emotionally involved in the home and it can be difficult to listen to the inspector tell the potential buyer and their agent about defects or problems.

Contact for property inspection Truganina on 416-281-0027 Today!