Say I am selling a used car. I am selling it for market price and there is a lot of competition for it. I tell you I have a bunch of other people interested in it, so you better act quickly if you want it. You need a car now, so you feel pressured to agree to buy it.
I also mention that you cannot open the hood to look at the engine, you can’t take it for a test drive, you can’t have your mechanic look at it, and you can’t see the carfax for it. Oh, and it’s also an older car with some miles on it, so you know there’s potential it may have been in accidents, possibly serious, and it may have had all sorts of mechanical issues.
What would you say? Most would say forget it.
In fact, most wouldn’t even buy a plastic cup for their child without reading reviews and thinking about the place they are getting it from and assurance they are getting a quality product……
But most people are waiving their inspections right now…. which is mind-blowing. I don’t feel this has impacted my business much because most of my clients not only want an inspection, but they want a thorough and detailed inspection so I have not seen much of a change. That being said, I am extremely biased on this subject and think that waiving your home inspection is crazy and something that needs to be addressed. Most buyers are pretty savvy and they see the old roof and are aware of many of the home’s obvious problems, but there are also usually more than one surprise on each inspection and many of them are big issues….
Home inspectors eat, breathe, and sleep problems. We look for issues every day. We learn about issues all the time. When we have a presenter who is an expert on a subject, we all want to know “how do we find the issues?”. It doesn’t matter if it’s a garage door or a water filter, we want to find out what’s wrong with it. That’s why contractors, electricians, and other pro’s still appreciate our inspections. They don’t spend all day just looking for problems and that is all we do.
I have been seeing this trend discussed more and more, so I thought I would share my insight. Waiving your inspection is waiving your peace of mind, your negotiating power, your safety, and the one real power you have in today’s market.
If you waive your inspection, get one after you own the home.
If you don’t hire me, hire somebody!