IS IT WORTH IT TO GET A HOME INSPECTION?

Question

Okay...so I know many of you are probably thinking "yes, it is no matter what." But I'd like to share my thoughts here about potentially not doing a home inspection. Reasoning below:

1. The property is governed by a HOA that covers all exterior (including roof and structure).

2. I inspected the property with my realtor and we found nothing alarming (no mold, no stains on walls or ceiling, checked plumbing and it all seemed to work fine)

3. The cost of getting an inspection would be ~$300

My thought process here is "would we find a repair that would offset the cost of the actual inspection?" My gut says no but I'm open to hearing people's thoughts about this. I know it sounds cheap but we're always looking to save money in a smart way if we can. Because the property has such a comprehensive HOA, it is essentially insured on the outside and the only major items I'd be worried about on the inside are the items I noted in bullet 2. Does anyone think this is a bad idea?

Chris B. · Answer

Seriously, if you real estate agent is advising this might even possibly be a wise choice, you should look for anther agent.  A $300 inspection is for a professional to spend a few hours looking through each and every aspect of the home looking for problems.  I have never seen an inspection report with no findings.  Even if I did, it would be worth every penny confirming this is a solid property.  $300 is a miniscule fraction of the price of the home that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.  It’s at minimum cheap insurance considering the benefits.  (True, it’s not literally the same as insurance.)  Here’s some info the inspection can provide:  Is the HOA actually doing a good job or is the building in need of repairs with a possibly incompetent HOA at the helm?  If there are structural repairs needed on your home, then are they needed on multiple homes, and does this mean you may see a $20k assessment surprise in the next year or two?  The HOA doesn’t inspect or cover the AC, heater, appliances, outlets, pluming, internal structure, or anything else.  Do they really cover the structure of the property and windows?  Your real estate agent isn’t trained to look for these things and honestly should not be vouching for any of it for liability reasons.  As a seller with a skillful handyman it’s easy to patch and hide problems.  Sometimes even an inspection won’t find everything. If you are not greatly skilled in home repairs yourself, you certainly won’t find the issues.   In the big picture, you get a lot of comfort knowing what is right and wrong with the property and also the leverage to walk away or demand concessions if issues are revealed. The cost in minimal compared to closing costs on your loan and taxes for example and we can’t even avoid those things.

Joseph Cacciapaglia · Answer

Does the HOA cover your HVAC, water heater, and appliances? If not, are all those systems properly installed and functioning as expected? I recently did one deal where the water heater was just venting into the attic. Is the electrical all properly grounded, on GFCI's where appropriate, and up to code? One recent transaction had literally no grounds, even though the face plates all looked like they did. Is this a condo or town home? If so, have any of the fire walls been improperly penetrated? Sometimes people cut holes in these to install or vent appliances, and then leave them. These are just a few of the items that I've run into issues with when buying or selling properties that had an HOA that was responsible for the roof and structure. You also want to make sure that the HOA is properly maintaining their portion, and if not, that they have reserve funds to take care of it.