Has anyone had a deal breaker using a home inspector?

Question

I know every house isn't perfect unless you buy a new house even then it might be some small issues.

How do most of you deal with home inspections? Do you let it deter you from getting the house? If so what issues?

Mike Dymski · Answer

Good home inspectors are a revenue center.  They don't pay for themselves on every property but they do over the course of a portfolio.  I've had numerous price reductions or seller credits to address real issues from inspections, even with "as-is" properties.

Chris John · Answer

I'm with @Mike Dymski in that I'm definitely thousands ahead on the money I've paid for inspections vs. how much I've negotiated off of prices over the years.

I'm also with @Terry Ouimet in that I've walked away from more than one misrepresented property over the years.  Some people are definitely amazing at putting lipstick on a pig in terms of hiding expensive items that need replacement to the untrained (me.  haha) eye.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Every purchase is different. Unless you're a contractor or a very experienced buyer, I would recommend a home inspection every time.

Most home inspectors are pretty vague. They usually have some level of building experience, but they are not experts on electrical, plumbing, roofing, HVAC, etc. There are a lot of things they can't do, don't know, or just plain miss.

If you have a good relationship with a general contractor, it may be worth hiring them to take a look. If you find areas of concern (plumbing, electrical, etc.) then you may hire a specialist to investigate further.

I typically don't negotiate over little things like appliances, doorknobs, etc. If there are major systems in need of repair or replacement, then it's a bargaining chip.

Tim Johnson · Answer

You're usually paying an inspector hundreds of dollars.....so of course, they'll be able to fill a 30-page report with photos and "issues". Major structural and safety issues? (foundation, roof, HVAC, sewer side-line? , etc.)  ...may be best to walk away or recalculate your numbers.  All other "problems" are generally not deal-breakers.

Eliott Elias · Answer

Inspectors are only good for negotiation purposes. Other than that they are extremely vague in their findings and never give you a clear grasp of the condition of the property

Terry Ouimet · Answer

I guess I'm the lucky one in a million who just had a deal breaker, but I feel like my inspector saved me from a $400K mistake. The property was advertised as new construction, small time builder from NJ, but the inspector found used wood in the crawl space and other evidence to support his theory that this was not only a used build, but a very poor build as well. After the inspection he dug into permits, found that the builder hired a  house moving company to move the beginnings of the house onto this lot, then build over it. Im no expert but isnt that a remodel? This is my first time buying out of state, so its been a learning experience for me, which is a good thing, in all the houses Ive bought, Ive never come across this level of dishonesty, but I'll be filing complaints against the listing realtor and the builder next week. In short, what would make me cancel a contract after inspection? A builder who builds a crappy house and then lies about it being new.  This house was in Florida.

Larry Turowski · Answer

I usually get inspections. Why?

1) I am not as smart as @Russell Brazil and even though I've been to many inspections I still don't know how to do them and miss things.

2) Scope of work. I use the inspections to button up the details on my scope of work. I wouldn't want my buyer to find them after I rehab.

3) Peace of mind. I prefer cosmetic rehabs. Yes, they are out there. My margins are smaller so I can't have a big gotcha eating up all my profit.

4) Mold. It is a pretty common issue here, requiring expensive, professional remediation. Home owners like to say it is not mold, my inspection can verify it and give me an accurate estimate of remediation costs, which become a seller concession.

5) I buy off market and it has never been an issue for the people I buy from.

6) Yes I did walk away from one deal that needed a new septic system.

Don Spafford · Answer

A few years back, I walked away from a deal because of the inspection. It was an older duplex. It looked really nice (lipstick on a pig). The attic had been renovated into living space. The problem is that when they did that, they did not properly fortify it. The floor beams in the attic were not modified to support it as living space, the walls coming off the roof did not have the 2x4s placed perpendicular for proper support so they were flimsy. And they had people living in it at that time. I saw it as too much of a risk for the safety of the people, and it would have taken too large of a budget to correct for all the errors. Not to mention it had knob & tube wiring still in use. The seller offered to help with the wiring replacement. But I decided it was not worth the risk overall.

Austen Ebay · Answer

Like most things in life, it's mostly dependent on the person; some are just filling paperwork and some are rockstars that pride themselves on the quality of their work.

I had one of the latter in Idaho that was extremely thorough and after shimmying into a tiny crawlspace found the sub-floor was rotten and literally crumbling in some places. The seller knocked ~10% off the price but the numbers still didn't add up when the work involved was considered.

Mike Eichler · Answer

For me personally, as long as it isn't a major issue and still would make a deal work if you ave to come out of pocket to fix it, which usually you can negotiate the price down to be able to fix the issues, then I would still move forward with the house, really just depends on yu and how much work you'd want to put into it to get it ready.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any more questions.

Live Free,

Mike

Has anyone had a deal breaker using a home inspector?

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