Real Estate: The Risks of Skipping a Home Inspection

By Carrie Colby

In the crazy real estate market we are in, many buyers are forgoing building inspections. This may make your offer as a buyer more attractive to the seller but there are significant risks in doing so. 

Just this week I put a house under contract for my buyers. While the sellers and buyers agreed on a purchase price the seller said they would be selling the house “As Is”. I recommended we go ahead and do an inspection anyway to make sure there were no major defects that would cost the buyers a considerable amount of money now or in the future.

Low and behold the inspection revealed that the septic failed and there is quite a bit of mold in the basement. Now I am in the process of finding out if the septic can be fixed or needs to be replaced and what it would cost to remediate the mold.

We will see how this pans out. Will the seller agree to have the septic fixed and mold removed? Will the seller stick to their “As Is” guns? Will the buyer decide to walk away or take on the repairs themselves?

That being said, as with any major purchase, buying a home requires a significant amount of due diligence to protect your interests and make an informed decision. A thorough, professional home inspection is a fundamental piece of the information puzzle. It’s nearly impossible to gain a complete and accurate overview of the home without it.

Here are a few of the main issues you may not learn about when you waive your right to a home inspection:

Unknown safety hazards
Without a home inspection, you may not learn about pressing safety issues that should be addressed before closing. Home inspections take several hours to conduct, and many safety issues will only be identified in the course of a normal home inspection. This includes concerns such as electrical hazards, fire hazards and carbon monoxide hazards.

Need for expensive repairs or replacements
You may think that major structural or maintenance issues requiring extensive (and expensive) work would jump out at you. Many problems that might give a home buyer pause are hidden by nature or by design, and it takes an experienced home inspector to suss them out. There is a laundry list of deal-breaking problems that have come to light during home inspections.

No maintenance plan for the home
Unlike vehicles, homes don’t come with a maintenance manual. When you get a home inspection, you’re not just getting a professional honey-do list. Home inspectors also give advice about the future maintenance needs of a home to help make sure the new owners are well-educated.

Knowing what big jobs may be coming in the next five to 10 years makes it easier to create a financial plan and be ready for them, like roof repairs or replacement, or a new furnace. Sometimes telling home buyers when to expect a repair is almost as valuable as finding major defects, as it allows you to budget,

A home inspection provides a home buyer with the information they need to consider in the overall home purchase equation. For example, a home that is selling at a lower price but will require major repairs in years shortly after the buyers move in may not be the right house for them. A better option may be to pay a bit more for a home with updated systems. <

Carrie Colby is a Broker with Allied Real Estate, 909 Roosevelt Trail in Windham. She can be reached at 207-232-5497.