Who Pays for a Home Inspection? And Why?

Table of Content

• Buyer or Seller: Who Pays for What
• Who pays for the home inspection?
• Questions sellers should ask themselves (and their agent) after the home inspection
• How Much Does a Home Inspection Cost? Plus, Why to Never Skip This Crucial Home-Buying Step
• Beautiful houseplants that also repel mosquitoes, cockroaches and other pests

This includes home inspection, home appraisal, and homeowners’ insurance. If you’re buying a house, a home inspection is one of the many things you need to pay for when closing. However, unlike other closing costs, you should pay the home inspector at the time of service, not after closing the house. Your real estate agent is a big resource here, as they should have negotiation strategies that help buyers and sellers meet in the middle on repair requests and come up with reasonable solutions. Buyers cover the cost of the home appraisal, which is usually required by their lender if they will be taking out a mortgage to buy the home. Even if it isn’t required, buyers sometimes complete appraisals for peace of mind that they’re making a smart investment and not overpaying.

It’s often offered as an incentive to attract buyers, but it’s not required. Offering a home warranty gives the buyer assurance that they won’t have to pay any huge repair bills soon after moving in — most policies are good for a year. They typically cover the home’s major systems, including plumbing, electrical and appliances. Sellers sometimes decide to do a pre-inspection for a better sense of what the buyer’s inspector will find and the chance to make any important repairs before listing.

Buyer or Seller: Who Pays for What

It's best for the home seller not to be present during the home inspection. Real estate agents often have relationships with home inspectors, so your agent might be able to recommend one. Home buyers are allowed to perform their own home inspection, but we don’t recommend it.

First, bookmark or download this checklist to bring along with you on inspection day. Inspection day is often one of the most exciting moments of home buying because it’s likely the first chance you’ll have to go inside the home since you made your offer. But more importantly, it’s your opportunity to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into when it comes to the condition of the home. However, you might want to double-check what’s included in the inspection by checking their website or contacting them before you hire them for the process.

Who pays for the home inspection?

Don't be afraid to call a few different companies and ask for a quote, so you can have a good idea of how much an inspection in your area should cost. Heating and cooling systems will be inspected to assure there is no gas odor, and the inspector will also ensure that the AC and heating systems are working correctly. Finding out the overall health of the home is something you need to know. How home inspections work and why you need one are highlighted below. If major repairs come up in the report, you will need to talk to your realtor to find out what to do next and how to approach negotiating or walking away. Wood destroying organisms – If these are present in the home, it will be added to the report.

One thing to look for is whether any unpermitted work has been done. If so, you could be on the hook for bringing the house up to code should you ever remodel. Even if that’s not even remotely on your radar, unpermitted work needs to be carefully inspected, particularly electrical and plumbing work. Start your search early, and have a couple of inspectors in mind. You’ll need to be sure you can get an inspection scheduled within your contract timeline, so if your first choice isn’t available, you need someone waiting in the wings.

Questions sellers should ask themselves (and their agent) after the home inspection

His recommendation is that once your lender has scheduled your appraisal, make sure your appraiser is a member of the Appraisal Institute. According to Spray, appraisals typically range from $400 to $600 for his central Florida clients. At HomeLight, our vision is a world where every real estate transaction is simple, certain, and satisfying. Therefore, we promote stricteditorial integrity in each of our posts. You’ll want to prioritize repairs that are a safety concern or legal issue. Regardless of where your home is, how big it is and how old it is, $350 will cover the inspection.

This is especially true when considering all the other responsibilities on your plate, from additional repair costs for sellers to homeowner’s insurance and other closing costs for buyers. If the home requires significant repairs before the sale closes, such as repairs to the electrical systems, you may need to have a reinspection of that item. Check your inspection report contract to see if you need to pay an additional fee to have the inspector look at the house again. If an inspector finds something exceptionally wrong with the property, you as the buyer may have the option to back out of your offer or renegotiate.

Who pays for repairs after a home inspection?

The thought of trying to hire a cheap home inspector might have crossed your mind, but it is not a good idea. The buyer also chooses the inspector for the home and this will be someone who is an “outside” party who will give an objective and unbiased evaluation of the home. Lisa Kaplan Gordon is an award-winning writer who's covered real estate and home improvement for realtor.com, Yahoo, AOL, and many others. “It means congratulations to the buyer because you bought a house that has built-in equity in it, according to the appraiser,” he says.

Depending on the wording of the sales contract—if the cost to repair the house is substantial—the buyer may be able to get out of the contract and get the earnest money back. With an as-is sale, there is virtually no recourse or warranty after closing. There are cases wherein the seller can agree to pay for the inspection. It’s still best that you oversee and pay for the home inspection since it’s in your best interest to find all issues in the house. Another question that is typically brought up is whether you should pay the home inspector with cash, check, or credit card. The home appraisal is one more expense you’ll need to prepare for to achieve your goal of homeownership.

A Redfin survey showed that 25% of home buyers skipped the home inspection step for a variety of reasons—mainly, to speed up the closing process. Now that open houses are back and home inspectors are once again reporting for duty, it’s not necessary to go to such extremes. Opting out of a home inspection completely is never recommended—even if it means your offer is rejected. Getting a house inspected before you agree to buy is essential in ensuring that you pay for a quality house that is up to your standards. It also will ease the burden of paying for repair costs that you might encounter if you didn’t get a home inspector to check for the damages. Moreover, it can also use the inspection report to negotiate with the seller regarding the price of their house.

The buyer will then use the money to have the problems fixed. Unless the sales contract spells out who will pay for the repairs, in most cases, the seller ends up paying—but the seller isn’t required to do so. Usually, the seller wants to finalize the deal and, in order to move forward with the sale, will agree to pay the repair costs.