What is the Value of a Home Inspection?

[Julie Marquez]

We are purchasing two homes on one lot. One home is built in 1991 and we will live in that one, the other home is 1924 and will be a rental. A home inspection is going to run us $750 and I'm wondering what exactly we get from an inspection. Will the inspector come up with repairs estimates so we can negotiate the final price?

If we don't have a licensed inspector draw up a report, and instead have a contractor come take a look, does that qualify for the inspection contingency on our P&S agreement? Or does the inspection contingency only valid by a licensed inspector? We don't plan on doing any remodeling, and from our visual walk through, everything seems up to date. My only concern is the age of the roof and that it will need to be replaced soon, and I'd like to get a roofer to give me an estimate and use that to negotiate. Does a roofing contractor qualify under the inspection contingency in the contract?

I don't see any glaring issues, and I'm not afraid of a little work, so what will the inspection provide for us, except just a report of it's current status?

[Julie Marquez]

We had a great inspector, Drew Fleshman from Mount Vernon, WA and he was awesome, I highly recommend him. He immediately noticed the shot roof, and then proceeded with the big items. He found white and black mold in the attic, and then found powder post beetle bugs on all the floor joists in the house built in 1924. He stopped at one hour of work, and we paid him $100 (no formal inspection write up), instead of the full $925 that would have included a full inspection of the two homes. We were able to take this information to the seller to see how they wanted to proceed. We expected everything to be fixed and be in good condition before purchasing the home at the agreed upon price. The sellers didn't agree and would raise the price for any improvements they made on the homes. So we cancelled the transaction.

I've bought homes with inspections and the report turned out clean, I've bought homes with no inspection and it's been okay, but I was very thankful that we had an inspection on this home. You just never know. That's my story of the day, and if you are in the Skagit area, look up Drew Fleshman.