If you are buying a home in the St. Louis area, perhaps your realtor has suggested you have your prospective home inspected as part of your due diligence before purchasing. This practice is becoming increasingly popular, and as home inspectors, we know why. A proper, thorough home inspection can give you extra insight into the many details of a home, making you a prepared and savvy homebuyer.
Our team of certified home inspectors have been inspecting homes in Ballwin, Eureka, Chesterfield, Hazelwood and their neighboring communities since 1979. At HouseMaster, we’ve conducted thousands of home inspections that serve prospective buyers. Once we complete your home inspection and talk you though the details, we are confident you’ll be prepared to make the next decision in the home buying process—whether it’s to negotiate for repairs or credit, walk away from a sale, or proceed as planned.
Fixing problems after a home inspection
Your home inspection report is the key to understanding the home you’re buying. Choosing an experienced and trusted home inspector means that you know exactly what issues and repairs to expect when you move in. In many cases, a home inspection is the jumping off point for negotiations on price or repairs. When it comes to negotiating price or repairs, your real estate agent will be your trusted expert. While it’s tempting to want to request repairs for every issue, the reality is that many housing markets are competitive and it’s not realistic to expect a seller to pay for every repair. Your real estate agent can help you prioritize the most important issues and negotiate with the seller or their agent.
Knowing when to walk away
In some cases, a home’s serious issues are masked by cosmetic upgrades. Settling for a cheap home inspection may result in a less detailed report and could lead to expensive and unexpected repairs after a sale.
It’s not uncommon for buyers to walk away from a home after receiving their home inspection report. Sometimes the types and costs of repairs to make a home livable and safe just aren’t in the budget. Common issues such as severe mold, unstable foundation, or termites can be ongoing projects that are expensive to fix. Of course, this isn’t the ideal scenario, but it’s always better to know before you buy. And a good real estate agent can help guide you through the process of leaving a sale if necessary.
Move to closing
One of the other outcomes of a home inspection may be that no repairs are done before closing and no further negotiation is possible. In many housing markets around the country, it is a seller’s market. Any hesitation or attempts to negotiate on price or repairs could lead the seller to wait for another buyer.
Additionally, if there aren’t any major issues—plumbing, electrical, foundation, or roof—it may not be worth your time to continue to negotiation. No home is perfect, but many are well maintained and livable. You can use your home inspection to come up with a list of projects to tackle after closing and feel assured that you’ve dodged more substantial issues.
No matter how your home inspection report impacts your home purchase, the licensed and experienced home inspectors at HouseMaster will always give you a thorough report. We’d love to show you what a detailed home inspection looks like. Schedule a home inspection with us today.
