Searching for Philadelphia homes for sale? After your home offer to purchase a property enters into contract, it’s time to start the long process of writing checks. Several different costs are involved, including lawyer and realtor fees. Because of this, you might want to skip your home inspection so you don’t have to pay the cost. But there are several reasons why it’s crucial to get a home inspection when buying Philadelphia real estate. Here is what you need to know.
A home inspection offers an out if needed
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
An excellent home inspection reveals essential information about the state of a property and its systems. As the homebuyer, the home inspection makes you more aware of what maintenance, repairs, and costs the property might need right now and over time. If you’re uncomfortable with what you find out during the home inspection, it gives you a chance to back out of the offer before you finalize the home purchase.
Inspections detect safety issues
Another significant benefit of home inspections is that they can detect safety problems, such as mold, carbon monoxide, and radon. All properties need to be tested for these safety issues, but they’re not always regularly tested. So it’s your responsibility as the homebuyer to get a home inspection and ensure you’re not buying a Philadelphia home with mold or carbon monoxide issues. Your buying contract should say that if these issues are detected, you can cancel your offer to purchase the property.
Home inspections reveal illegal installations or additions
Another advantage of home inspections is that they can reveal whether basements, altered garages, or rooms were finished without an appropriate permit or if they did not follow code. Between usability issues, taxes, and insurance, a property with illegal or unpermitted room additions is less valuable. You don’t want to buy something that is not permitted and legally doesn’t exist. Even new properties with systems not correctly installed to code become the financial responsibility of the new owner to fix and finance.
Inspections provide you with protection
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
Home inspections are even more critical if you are purchasing a short sale or a foreclosed property as is. Properties that have been boarded up tend to develop dangerous mold issues, which cause health problems and are expensive to fix. Home inspectors commonly find that people attempting to sell copper for money to recyclers have removed outdoor compressors and copper plumbing lines from foreclosed homes.
A home inspection is a negotiating tool
The home inspection report allows you to ask for a price reduction, credit, or repairs from the property seller. It’s essential to work with your buyer’s agent to determine which requests you can and should make from the seller to negotiate an excellent deal.
Inspections help you forecast future costs
A home inspector can estimate the installation age of the most significant systems in the property, including heating and cooling, plumbing, and essential equipment such as water heaters. Inspectors can also figure out the current condition of the building itself and estimate how long the finishes have been in the property. All parts of the property have a shelf life. If you know when these parts need to be replaced, you can make better budgeting decisions. It will also help you determine which kinds of warranties and home insurance coverage to consider.
Home inspections help you identify deal breakers
Home inspections can help you figure out if the home you are in the process of buying has any deal breakers. They allow you to identify how much extra effort or money you are able and willing to spend to transform the property into something acceptable to you and your family. If you are unwilling to spend additional time, money, and effort fixing problems like ceilings, cracked walls, or faulty gutters, you are probably not ready to end your Philadelphia home purchasing journey.
Inspectors teach you how to protect your investment
The home inspector is an essential educational resource. They can teach you how to protect your home investment. Home inspectors can recommend specific advice on properly maintaining your property and save you several thousand dollars over the long term.
Home inspections reveal the big picture
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
Another huge advantage of home inspections is that they reveal the big picture of the home you’re purchasing. Homebuyers use home inspections to better understand the nuances involved with the property since a home is likely the largest purchase they will ever make.
Potential home buyers tend to fall in love with some part of the property based on factors like the location of the home and the color of the walls, but they are entirely blind to the structural and mechanical issues that make dream homes a nightmare. But home inspections reveal the big picture of the property, including any mechanical and structural problems you might have overlooked.
Many insurance companies require inspections
Many home insurance companies will not even insure a property if specific home conditions are found or without a proper four-point home inspection. Qualified home inspectors can take care of the inspection and fix the property to meet the appropriate requirements simultaneously as the other home services and save the buyer money and time over the long term. You must take the time to get a proper home inspection if you want your property insured — no one wants an uninsured home.
Looking for new Philadelphia homes for sale? Reach out to trusted Philadelphia real estate team Douglas Pearson for guidance. Doug genuinely enjoys finding solutions to clients’ problems, including home inspections — an approach that makes him one of the most successful agents in the market for Greater Philadelphia luxury homes. Contact Doug today and find out everything that distinguishes his team.
