The home buying process is long and somewhat arduous. You often spend months looking for the right home before an offer is made and once an offer is made and accepted, you must jump through several more hoops before the sale closes. One of the important parts of the process is the home inspection, where a professional makes sure everything in the home is functioning properly and identifies repairs that should be made.

The buyer pays the cost of a home inspection, but can always wave the right to an inspection. That’s never a good idea. You should make a home inspection a mandatory part of the home-buying process. You need unbiased documentation of the home’s condition. This is true for pre-owned homes as well as new construction.

A buyer can fall in love with a home for various reasons. The buyer may love the size of the home, the homes exterior, the layout of the kitchen, or the open floorplan. The home’s excellent appearance can hide real problems.

The inspector will inspect the attic and the crawl space. The inspector can discover real and expensive issues that are not always apparent when you view the home with the real estate agent. The home might not look good on top or underneath. A home is much more that the red door curb appeal, great interior decorating and a fresh paint job. It’s about what’s in your walls and not what’s on them.

When the buyer and seller reach an agreement on a home, the buyer is under some legal obligation to finalize the sale. A home inspection by a licensed home inspector gives you a way out of the deal if necessary. Having a friend, contractor, electrician, plumber, or carpenter does not provide the inspection report that is necessary to renegotiate with the seller. Only a licensed home inspector report provides the ability to renegotiate the sale price or get out of the deal, if an agreement is not reached on the items in the report.

By: Yale Wolk