What to Expect from a Home Inspection (and What to Do With It)
A good home inspection should be thorough.
Very thorough.
Inspectors, or at least the ones I trust and recommend, provide a detailed report, sometimes dozens of pages long.
And when buyers see that for the first time, it can feel overwhelming. Even when we have discussed it ahead of time.
Just because you got a very detailed report doesn’t mean the house is about to fall in.
It means the inspector did their job.
What You Should Expect Before the Inspection
Before you ever spend money on an inspection, there should already have be conversations about things like:
- roof age
- HVAC condition
- visible wear and tear
Things like:
“approaching end of life”
Many of those don’t usually need to be surprises.
They’re part of the overall picture and many should be factored in before you go under contract or at least before inspection negotiations begin.
Now, if the HVAC isn’t heating and cooling or the roof is leaking, that’s a different story.
This Is Not About “Don’t Ask”
There are absolutely times to ask for repairs or credits.
Especially when it comes to:
- structural issues
- mechanical systems
- safety concerns
- things that were not known or reasonably expected
Those matter and they should be addressed.
Where Things Can Go Sideways
Where I see deals get strained is here:
A buyer receives a thorough report
and they instruct their agent to prepare a repair addendum asking the seller to fix each and every item.
Many of them are:
- cosmetic
- maintenance
- or already expected
Now from the seller’s perspective:
it can feel like the deal is being renegotiated
it can feeling shocking or a little sneaky
And that can shift the tone quickly.
I’ve had situations where my seller client:
- agreed to a lower price when receiving the offer
- or offered a credit upfront
with the understanding that they would not be making repairs at that price.
Then the inspection happens
and a repair addendum comes through with multiple pages of items, most of them minor.
That can cause a seller to shut down entirely.
Not because they wouldn’t have agreed to address anything
but because it now feels like the terms are being changed.
The inspection isn’t the time to renegotiate everything, it’s the time to address what truly matters.
There Are Different Phases for a Reason
- There’s a time to negotiate price and terms
- There’s a time to evaluate the property
- And there’s a time to address unexpected issues
- When those lines blur, deals can get harder, not easier
What Can Happen When Too Much Is Asked
Sometimes buyers don’t expect everything on their list.
They just want a few key items addressed.
But if everything is asked for ‘just to see what will happen’
the seller may not respond to anything
And the buyer can be left with:
- fewer options
- more tension
- harder decisions
At the End of the Day
A Realtor owes their client (the one they represent in the transaction) fiduciary duties and that includes ‘obedience’. But doing what’s in the client’s best interests also includes preparing them for and guiding them through the entire process as well as explaining potential outcomes.
The goal of an inspection isn’t to create a perfect house.
It’s to make a smart decision.
And the strongest outcomes happen when:
- expectations are clear
- priorities are defined
- and strategy is thoughtful
It’s not about asking for less, it’s about asking for what matters.
Any questions about the process, feel free to give me a call.