After browsing several properties, discussions with your real estate agent, and finally getting your offer entered into contract, the home inspection is one of the last hurdles you’ll need to go through before you reach closing.
When done right, the home inspection allows you to make well-informed decisions so you can take the right steps towards this major purchase.
Planning to purchase a home in Ibis Club West Palm Beach? On this page, we’ll take a look at several reasons why a professional home inspection plays a key role in a real estate transaction.
Safety
Home inspections reveal safety threats like mold, radon, and carbon monoxide. These are all serious, potentially life-threatening elements that all homes need to be tested for.
Make sure your contract declares that if such hazards are detected in the home, you’ll have the option to revoke your purchase offer.
Protection
The home inspection becomes even more essential for buyers of foreclosed properties or short sales. Pre-owned homes are more likely to develop hazardous issues or structural damage over time which pose health concerns and can be costly to resolve.
Detecting potential issues early can save thousands. A home inspection will help reveal these costly problems before they develop further and cause a huge dent in your savings.
Identify any structural issues
Repairing structural issues like major cracks, skewed door frames, and damages to the foundation can be extremely costly. By performing a home inspection, you can potentially avoid incurring large expenses in the future.
Keep in mind, however, that not all home inspectors are engineers, so if you’re mostly concerned about the condition of a home’s structure, it’s best to look for an inspector who’s a professional engineer.
Advantage during negotiations
Should the home inspection report reveal issues, you can use that as leverage to request repairs, price reductions, or even credit from the home seller. Consult your real estate agent so you have a better understanding of what requests are plausible to allow you to negotiate a better deal.
Reveal illegal additions
A home inspection can tell you if any parts of the home were constructed or altered without following code or obtaining the necessary permit. Any property that has illegal additions affects taxes, insurance, function, and its overall value.
Altered or additional rooms that are unpermitted are a liability. This applies even to brand new homes with systems that are not up to code. Should these stay undetected following purchase, then they will become the new homeowner’s problem to fix and finance.
Provides information on future costs
A home inspection report shows the approximate installation age of a home’s major systems like heating and cooling, electrical, and plumbing. They provide an in-depth analysis of the structure’s current condition as well, along with details on how long certain finishes and fixtures have been in the home.
Performing a home inspection will give you the needed information regarding when components of a home may be at the end of their “shelf life,” requiring replacements. This will help you make smarter budgeting decisions, and will determine the type of insurance coverage you should consider.
Peace of mind
It goes without saying that the costs involved in a real estate transaction are by no means cheap. By getting a home inspection, you also get peace of mind.
The main objective of a home inspection is to ensure that the home is, for the most part, a safe and secure place to live. By forgoing the inspection, you could be vulnerable to unnecessary stress and anxiety after you finalize the purchase. The peace of mind you get from performing a home inspection gives you confidence that you’re making a solid investment.
Gives you an option to back out
A home inspection provides a comprehensive look at the current condition of a home and its systems. It’s a way to get detailed information on the expenses, repairs, and maintenance that the home requires, whether immediately or over time.
Should the inspection reveal major issues that make the buyer reconsider their decision to buy, it gives them one last opportunity to cancel their offer.
With all of the reasons mentioned above, it’s easy to see why getting a home inspection is extremely important. Although it’s not always a perfect process and some issues may still go undetected, a home inspection will give you a more detailed look at the home so you can make the right decisions in the final stages of your homebuying journey.
Want to work with the finest Palm Beach Gardens real estate agent? Get in touch with The Telchin Group today by calling 561.301.0249 or leave us a message here.