Why You May Want to Bring a Home Inspector in Earlier

benefits of a home inspection

Traditionally, home inspections don’t happen until after the homebuyer has made an offer.

This practice of having a home inspection preformed after a home buyer’s offer is submitted is so standard that most people don’t question it.  But having a home inspected before submitting an offer is a fairly frequent practice in San Francisco and Seattle – and some real estate agents think it’s worth adopting more widely.

Having a home inspection performed earlier – before submitting an offer – tells the seller that the buyer already knows potential problems with the home and still wants to buy it.  It also lets sellers know that you’re not going to ask them to pay for repairs later.

Researchers at the real estate group Redfin in San Francisco say that offers paired with pre-inspections were successful 21% more often than other offers, and that San Francisco home buyers whose offers included a pre-inspection were more than twice as likely to win a bidding war as those without one.

An earlier inspection can also mean that the home buyer has less leverage to get the seller to fix problems or drop the price later, since all of those requests should be part of the accompanying offer.  In a hot seller’s market, when there is time to perform a pre-inspection, this strategy can be one more way to have the buyer’s offer stand out and be more likely to be accepted.

Semper Fi Home Inspections can assist with residential and commercial inspections.  Book your inspection by calling 682-351-2267 or  schedule your home inspection online.

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