The hidden costs of home inspections: Why you might be paying too much for too little

[Keenan Fitzpatrick]

It's human nature to focus on hard costs. They are right there in your face and quantifiable.
But what is the costs of not inspecting a flat roof because the seller said it was ok?

A plumber can cost $250-$350/hr to put a camera in a drain line but a new sewer main can easily cost $30,000 - $50,000 and a new cleanout can be $6,000 - $8,000 or more depending on the depth and if it's by the driveway which it often is.

I can tell you from personal experience it can be up to about $34 per sq/ft for an EPDM roof with a taper kit installed or about $90,000 on my small ranch 4plex. A roof inspection costs around $350.

Sometimes you spend thousands on inspections and you come across a deal breaker or aren't able to negotiate terms to keep moving forward. That is the cost of doing business and why you have to make your margins on other deals.

[Mike D'Arrigo]

@Keenan Fitzpatrick I totally agree that inpections are important. The problem with them however is that most are not contracters and as @Andy Sabisch said, they are not qualified to determine the age of a roof or many things so they will give a CYA statement and recommend further evaluation by a liscenced contractor. Another problem is that some of them are so overly cautious and vague that they make the most minor problem look major and an inexperienced buyer can't distinquish between big things and small things and gets scared off.