Don't Skip The Home Inspection
Posted by Hamid Grinage on Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 at 11:25am.Every now and then I come across a buyer who questions whether or not they really need a home inspection, and I always have to stress to them the importance of getting one. If there is already a home inspection done before the home hits the market (pre-sale), then as long as it was done by someone reputable you can feel pretty comfortable trusting the information they provide. Some buyers choose to hire another inspector of their choosing just to be sure.
However on almost all short sales and foreclosures (which makes up over half of the current market) the sellers never have pre-sale inspections done, which makes it hugely important that you get one done as soon as you are in contract. I would say it's most important when dealing with a foreclosure, because the seller is a financial institution who has no knowledge at all about the history and condition of the property. At least with a short sale the owner was living in the house and has some knowledge of past issues etc, and can fill out a Transfer Disclosure Statement which is not required by the seller in a foreclosure. Although this disclosure doesn't always provide valuable info, many times it can alert you to issues that may or may not come up in a home inspection.
So the bottom line is...if you are buying a home then you are making a large investment and it pays to have it inspected by a professional before you commit to buying it. Remember the old saying, "Better safe than sorry".
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