The market is hot, and homes are selling fast. Getting creative with your offer is sometimes the best way to catch the attention, and approval, of a homeowner. But don’t get creative to your detriment — you should never, ever waive a home inspection.
Home inspections are traditionally completed after an offer is accepted. You, the buyer, have the power to walk away or ask for concessions if the inspection comes back with problems. When you waive that inspection, you lose the right to back out of a bad deal — and you could be stuck with thousands in repair costs upon move-in.
We spoke with Will Cousins of Elite Inspections in East Tawas to get an idea of just how risky skipping your inspection can be.
“It’s very unsafe,” Will said. “You have no idea what you’re getting into. For example, yesterday, I inspected a home and the buyers weren’t present. They did a video walkthrough with their realtor, and hadn’t seen the home in-person. When I did a thorough inspection, I ran the water long enough to assess the performance of the well pump.”
Will found the private well was only producing 0.2 gallons of water per minute.
“There’s a chance they’d need a new well altogether,” Will said. “And that’s an $8,000 purchase. If they hadn’t had an inspection, they wouldn’t have known about the bill awaiting them.”
Will often finds water damage in crawlspaces, where potential buyers rarely venture. Structural damage alone can set new homeowners back tens of thousands of dollars.
“I really believe it’s in a buyer’s best interest to get that inspection completed,” Will said. “I understand there’s a lot of competition to buy a home right now, but they’re really taking on a great deal of risk when they do that. You need an experienced, qualified, certified inspector to point these things out.”
Navigating the buying process without help and expert advice can also be risky. Contact our team at Sterling Properties by calling 989-362-4585 for more information and assistance. You can reach Will at Elite Inspections at (989) 260-2969. https://eliteinspectservice.com
Sterling Properties 
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