Pros and Cons of Getting a Home Inspection Before Purchasing a Home

We are currently in the process of buying our second home. We have gone through so much to get to this point. When we first bought our starter home, our realtor mentioned that some people decided not to get an inspection on the house. In a way, that sounded nice, but in other ways, that sounded extremely stupid. What are some of the pros and cons we have learned from getting a home inspection?

Pros of Getting a Home Inspection Before Purchasing a Home

1. You get more than just a surface look at the home. We just finished our inspection on our second home, and the inspector sent us multiple pictures of the attic space where the roof potentially has some issues. We would not have known this otherwise. If you never got an inspection, you wouldn't know this was wrong until your roof caved. Now we know what we need to fix and what the expenses are. 
2. This can help when you ask the homeowner to come down on their price to help cover expenses. You can always ask for an allowance!
3. Inspectors can review the electrical, plumbing, and other aspects of a home you might need to be an expert at. It is nice to have peace of mind!
4. Not only can inspectors look for structural issues. Here they can look for potential dangers, like mold, water, fire alarms, and 1001 other things that could go wrong with your home.
5. Do you have a better idea of what you're getting into immediately instead of finding things as you live there? I like knowing how sound my home is before I move my whole family into it! I don't know about you, but I'm not too fond of the thought of a wall randomly falling over because I didn't get an inspection; in my opinion, it is 100% worth it!
6. If you get an inspection, you can back out of your contract. Yes, you might lose some money, but you will save yourself thousands upon thousands of dollars if the home you bought is different from a home that will work for your family after the inspection. 
7. If you are planning on selling the home within a few years, it is good to know what things other buyers might be looking at. Because my husband's school moves us around the country quite a bit. It is nice to know what house projects we need to do before trying to sell again. I feel better trying to sell our home because I know exactly what to expect.

Cons of Getting a Home Inspection Before Purchasing a Home

1. It can be frustrating when you think your house is perfect and they find many problems! We recently found a home that we thought would be a dream home. Come to find out, there were a lot of issues with it. Bummer!!:/
2. It costs quite a bit of money to get an inspection! $500 down the drain if you decide not to go with the house. In the long run, you have to think about how much money you'll save by not purchasing a lemon of a home!
3. Inspection is another thing to do on your thousands of to-do lists during the homebuying experience! It is one thing to buy a house. It is another thing to try to sell and then buy a house with multiple inspections and people coming into your home while trying to schedule an inspection in your next home. Craziness! I think my kids are tired of me making phone calls all day long!
4. Some inspectors could be better at their job! My sister had an inspector. Tell her that the chimney was 100% stable. It probably would have fallen over within a few months if she hadn't taken it down. It was at least a foot from the main structure; that's a little scary! I would get a well-recommended inspector from someone you trust!
5. Sometimes the inspection report can feel daunting and frustrating! They are being paid to find all the nitty-gritty repairs that need to be done. In my advice, don't sweat the small stuff when looking at the overall inspection take a deep breath and sleep on it!:)

"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey." 

- Pros and Cons Team

Written By: Sarah