How Does the Inspection Process Work?

Just because your offer has been accepted does not mean your home purchase is over. There are still quite a few things you’ll have to deal with.
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So, you have found your dream home and you are ready to buy. You have put the offer in and the seller has accepted it. What is next?

There are a lot of moving parts to this transaction and we want to make sure you get to the closing table quickly and smoothly. Today we’re going to go over some of the different obstacles you have to go through and how we can help get you through them.

One of the first things we need to do after the offer has been accepted is to order the inspection. The home inspector is going to look at the overall functionality of the house. They will be looking for safety issues, systems, and more. During the inspection, we always recommend that one of the buyers is there. You will be able to walk through the home with the inspectors and learn everything you need to about the home. The more informed you are, the better off you will be as a homeowner.

Once an inspector finds an issue with the property, how do you get it fixed? There are so many different issues that can be found in a home that a licensed, certified inspector is going to find at least a few. One of the things you can do as a buyer is ask the seller for a credit to fix the issues yourself. You can also ask the seller to fix the issue themselves before the sale is final. There are many different ways to handle this situation and every home seller is different. Sometimes a credit is better; sometimes it is better to have the seller fix them.

There are always issues in an inspection. Most of them will be minor. However, we are here to help you determine what might be worth the seller fixing on their own and what you’re better of doing on your own. 
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A lot of things have to happen to get us to the closing table.”

The inspector will have a “significant findings” page in their report and those are the main things we want to focus on fixing. Any surface repairs, like new carpet or new paint, aren’t worth asking about. You might not end up liking the new color or carpet they put in, so it is usually better to get a credit for these types of things. The small things are not worth battling over when you have the significant findings to deal with.

When you do make repairs, you want to make sure that you are working with a licensed contractor. A good agent will have contacts in place for everything you need. Our team knows some great plumbers, roofers, electricians, and more that can handle any issue in a home.

Keep in mind that as long as you are in your contingency period, you have the right to cancel your contract at any time for any reason. There is always an out as long as you do not waive that inspection contingency upfront.

In addition to the inspection, you have to deal with appraisals, title issues, and more. There are a lot of things that have to happen to get us to the closing table. We are not trying to scare you; we are just trying to inform you upfront of exactly what is going to happen from contract to close.

If you have any questions for us about the home inspection process or anything else about buying a home, please feel free to reach out and give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you soon.