Who Orders the Inspection and Who Needs to See It?

Who Orders the Inspection and Who Needs to See It?
Clint Edwards
Post Date: Updated:

Wondering who is in charge of ordering (and paying for) a home inspection, and who it belongs to? Here’s what you need to know. The home inspection isn’t typically required by the lender, so it’s not in the same column as an appraisal. Here’s who is responsible.

What a Home Inspection is All About

If the home inspection turns up a lot of repairs that need to be made, you could find your home costs a lot more post-purchase than you were prepared for. By getting a home inspection done, you can find out what damage it might be hiding, and negotiate the selling price down considerably.

Who Is Responsible For the Home Inspection?

The home inspection typically benefits the buyer, so you’ll be the one who needs to find a home inspector and schedule the inspection. You’ll also be the one paying for it, but it’s money well spent. Knowing if there are serious structural issues in advance puts you in a position of power, and also gives you the option to walk away if you have a home inspection contingency clause in your offer.

Assuming you’re working with a real estate agent, they will have contacts for a home inspection. It also doesn’t hurt to ask friends and family to see if anyone knows a good inspector they can recommend.

Who Needs to See the Home Inspection?

You are the client of the home inspector, so you get to decide who sees the results of the home inspection. Of course, if there are any issues you want addressed, you’ll be sharing those with results with the seller to point them out.

You may be able to get a seller to drop the price if there is serious damage to the home. You also might be able to get them to agree to pay for repairs before you purchase the home, or to give you what is called a “closing credit” that can be used towards repairs that need to be done.

In most cases, the lender won’t need to see the home inspection, unless something comes to light that would change the appraisal of the home. With that said, if the lender does become aware of major issues with the home, most loan programs would require that the work be completed prior to closing.

Outside of small repairs, specifying the exact work that needs to be completed on the addendum outlying the change in purchase price or seller credit could cause a red flag with the lender, and cause a delay in closing until the repairs are done.

Having a home inspection is almost always the smart move. If a seller tries to convince you to waive it, this could be a red flag. Since they aren’t paying for it, the main reason to try and avoid an inspection is because they know you’ll find some problems.

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