How To Be Realistic When Your Home Inspection Delivers Bad News
It’s the job of a professional home inspector to give you the truth, a complete and unbiased review of all the components of a property. Both buyers and sellers can be unaware of repair and remediation issues with a property.
The reason to get a professional home inspection is to receive an honest evaluation of the current state of the property. An experienced professional won’t gloss over a shaky foundation or systems at the end of their useful remaining life.
Many people think a home inspection is just one of those hurdles that needs to be done in order for a property transaction to happen. It is one of the steps. And the inspection results will help you make a wise decision.
There’s a reason for that important step. You will get an honest, professional evaluation of the property condition.
When You Get Bad News
Your professional home inspector will look in places you never look. Trouble often occurs in those places property owners don’t think about. Your home inspector will not only tell you about any problems in the home, but will recommend ways to fix the problem. Often, because he or she is local, they will know the best service, repair, or remediation.
Buying or selling a home is an emotional investment. Whatever your financial situation, your home is the safe place you and your family live. A professional home inspection will help you make a wise decision because they are looking for health and safety concerns as well as a sound structure.
Rather than just a step in the process, a professional home inspection helps you evaluate your decision to complete the transaction, even with bad news.
Roof Patching Repairs
For Sellers
As a seller you are looking to get the most money you can from the sale of your property. When your home inspector uncovers a situation that requires repairs, you have several options :
- Reduce the price to sell as-is.
- Invest in the repairs and sell at your stated price.
- If your house is already on the market and you decide to do a major repair, you may need to be flexible until the repairs are completed.
Plumbing Leak Repairs
For Buyers
When you decide to purchase a home, you have a large emotional investment in the property that meets your future living requirements. Getting bad news about needed repairs can be emotionally devastating. You also have several options, such as :
- Use the cost of necessary repairs to negotiate the price downward.
- Ask for the repairs to be done as a condition of the sale.
- Ask for a credit adjustment on the purchase price and have the repairs done under your control.
- In the case of extreme findings, you can walk away from the purchase.
If you are set on this one particular property, you have some hard decisions to make. If you are flexible enough to consider other options, then the cost of the home inspection has saved you many times the investment in time and money spent on repairs.
Electrical Repairs
Don’t Shoot the Inspector
Nobody likes bad news, especially in a transaction that involves a significant financial and emotional investment.
Your professional home inspector brings knowledge and experience to give you an unbiased analysis of the condition of a property. You engage their services to provide an honest estimation of the condition of the property and any health or safety issues.
It’s not the inspector’s fault if something is wrong. However disappointed you may be in the findings, remember that they are the conditions of the property. Those conditions were not created by your home inspector. Be thankful you found out about the bad news before you went ahead with the real estate transaction.
Fireplace Brick Damage
The decision to go ahead with the transaction is in your hands. Your home inspection gives you bargaining chips to take to the table when you negotiate the final price. Discuss the findings with your real estate agent. Ask for help in negotiating your real estate transaction based on the “bad news” findings.
You can rely on your home inspector to provide truthful, complete, and unbiased findings so you can make the wisest decision possible. You may be disappointed or angry, but take a deep breath, put your emotions aside, and make your decision based on the new information.
It’s Your Choice
In the end, It’s your decision. Ask yourself, do I still love it? At what price?
