Many first time home buyers are so excited that they actually can afford a home, they often skip or don’t pay attention to a home inspection. Home inspections are a crucial part of the home buying process and since this is a large investment, it pays to know all you can about the home. Home inspections are one of those out of pocket expenses that many home buyers don’t account for. It can’t be built into the price of the home and must be paid directly to the inspector. Depending on your area this can run anywhere from about $300 – $800 or more depending on the type of inspection. For Example: A home inspection in Fort Myers, FL will vary in price from a home inspection in Los Angeles, CA. Here are some reasons why a home inspection is an important and necessary expense when buying a home.

• Home inspections can help you negotiate for the home. This is the obvious one. An inspection report can tell you whether or not you really want to proceed with the buying transaction. If there is too many issues to bother with, buyers can walk away and retain their earnest money deposit. At this point there is no recourse. If the buyer continues with the purchase, they can request that problem items be replaced, repaired, or they can ask for money to be given at the close to compensate for these issues. The seller can then agree or counter-negotiate for whatever they are wanting. If an agreement cannot be made, the deal terminates and the earnest money is returned. If a deal can be mutually accepted, the transaction goes onto to pending and closing. A good rule of thumb when considering what to ask for in an inspection; if you ask for everything you often get nothing. Safety issues are always the most important. Any issue that is truly a hazard should be addressed in the inspection.

• Inspections help you plan for the future. If you do plan on moving forward with the home purchase, having an inspection is a great way to learn as much as you can about the home. Since this is the biggest investment you may ever make, it really pays to learn all you can about it. Follow the home inspector throughout the home, inside and out, and learn about the home  in preparation for your possible purchase. By learning about the life span of items such as the roof, furnace or heat pump, air conditioner, water heater and sewer or septic system, you can plan for replacing them in the future. For example: If the inspector tells you the roof has about 5 years left on it, that’s enough time to not ask the seller’s to pay for the replacement at this time. But if you plan on staying in the home longer than 5 years or plan on selling within that time, you or the future buyers will want that roof replaced. Get an estimate on how much it would cost to replace the roof, then divide that number by the number of months until it will need to be replaced. You can then begin to put that amount aside each month so that you will have the total amount needed when it comes time to replace the roof. This is a great strategy for any large expense and it will really help you when the time comes to replace a large appliance or item.

• Inspections tell you if a further examination is needed. Inspectors know a little about everything and maybe a little more about one area or another but no inspector knows everything about everything. If an inspector recommends that you think about getting another inspection on a specific item, you should take their advice and do it.  A further inspection could be required on items such as a pest inspection, septic system, or roof. This can be an added expense, but can give you peace of mind when it’s all said and done. That old saying “buyer beware” definitely comes into play when buying a home and it literally pays to protect yourself all you can.

Let’s face it, it is just plain smart buying to find out as much as you can about a property before you make the purchase. You probably wouldn’t drop $200,000 or more into a stock not knowing anything about it, or at least not investigating all you can about it. Knowledge is power and knowing all you can about a certain property before finalizing on it is one of the smartest ways to buy real estate. For more information on quality home inspections contact our Home Inspector in Fort Myers, FL. Our experts know what to look for and are experienced with everything involved with Fort Myers Home Inspections.