Adam Tabaka (00:00):

Alright, let’s talk about home inspections. Now, there are four different ways that a home inspection can be structured. Two of them with contingencies in the sales contract, two without contingencies.

(00:11):

The first type that I’ll address is what’s called a home inspection for informational purposes only. This means you contract for the right to conduct a home inspection, but with no right to void or to negotiate repairs based on the results of that home inspection. From a buyer’s standpoint, this is my least favorite option if you’re going to do some type of home inspection, because really you, you’re learning maybe what the problems are that you might be encountering, but with no ability to kind of negotiate out some kind of agreeable solution between yourself and with the seller.

(00:49):

The second type we’ll talk about is called home inspection contingency with right to void only. Now, when you have the right to void only, it means basically you’ll get the home inspection report back, whether or not you actually attend the inspection, you’ll get the report and you’ll have an opportunity to review the report and make a decision whether or not you want to proceed to settlement under the terms that are agreed upon or whether you want to void based on the results of the inspection. Now, sellers are generally going to prefer this type of home inspection contingency to the next one that we’ll talk about because they’re going to feel like they’re not going to be nickeled and dimmed over small ticket items that might show up on the inspection report.

(01:33):

The next type that we’ll talk about is a home inspection contingency with the right to void or to negotiate repairs. This option is generally preferred by buyers because it allows you as a buyer to potentially negotiate out a resolution to issues that come up in the inspection that you did not anticipate, without having to void the contract altogether.

(01:55):

And the fourth option available to you is what’s called a pre-inspection. With a pre-inspection, you would need to get permission from the seller to conduct an inspection prior to writing an offer on the property. When might you want to use this? Maybe in a very competitive situation where you know there are going to be multiple offers coming in and you want to be able to write a very competitive offer with no home inspection contingency. In this situation, you’re going to be out of pocket three to $500, maybe more for the cost of the home inspection, but it’s going to enable you to compete with fewer contingencies in your offer.

(02:32):

Which option is best for you is really going to depend on your personal preferences and the situation in which you find yourself with any given particular property.

(02:42):

Want to learn more about home inspections? Check out my Home Buyer Overview. Ready to get the process started? Give me a call or schedule time with me down below. Until next time, take it easy.