A buyer's home inspection is the best way to find out if the house you're interested in is a good deal or a bad investment that would cost you lots of time and money.

A home inspection contingency is a clause added to a real estate contract stating that the purchase is contingent on the results of the home inspection. This allows home buyers to cancel the sale or negotiate repairs based on the inspection results. 

If you decide to add a home inspection contingency, you will have a specific time frame to schedule and conduct the inspection, as well as any potential follow-up evaluations. If there are any deal-breaking issues on the inspection report, the home inspection contingency empowers buyers to pull out of the sale and get back their deposit, making this one of the best ways to protect yourself against surprise costs after move-in.

Your home inspector is the expert, but there are still things you can do as the buyer to ensure the process goes smoothly. When possible, we recommend home buyers attend their home inspection so they can see the damage firsthand and ask questions. Having these discussions with the inspector in real-time leads to more in-depth information about your home than what you will find on the inspection report.

As you’re walking through the house, try not to get hung up on the number of defects, as often these repairs are very minor. Instead, dig into the severity of the issues to determine if there are any deal breakers that would prevent you from moving forward with the sale.

The Home Inspection Report

After the home inspection, you’ll receive a written report that covers the property’s major features and notes any problematic issues that may need attention.

We here at Simplex Inspection Service take the time to walk you through the report and our findings. This may include any damage or wear that we found in the home, no matter how minor. It’s our job to make note of every flaw, so your report will likely have a lot of issues listed on it. This does not mean that everything is something that should cause concern. We are able to help you discern what may be hazardous or a red flag.