Don't Buy Home Without an Inspection Contingency
Six hidden property flaws you need to look for
By Ilyce Glink | Published: 12/05/2007
Hiring a home inspector before buying can help reduce costs when shopping for a home.
If you're buying a home, the last thing you want is an expensive surprise.
Unfortunately, most things that can go wrong with a house tend to pack a powerful punch in the wallet.
If you have to replace your hot water heater, expect to spend upward of $600. If you have to replace your furnace or central air conditioner, you could spend twice that or more. Even seemingly small problems, such as burst pipes, badly wired outlets or cracked paint, can cause a slow leak in your financial stability.
Since homebuyers typically spend just about every penny they have buying a house, they often fail to plan for even the regular and ordinary expenses associated with owning and maintaining a home. These kinds of surprises can wreak havoc on a budget.
This is why it's so important for homebuyers to have a professional home inspector do an inspection of the house from top to bottom, including all mechanical systems.
But having a home inspector find things that are wrong with your house won't matter if you don't include a home inspection contingency as part of your contract.
An inspection contingency is an addendum to a contract that gives buyers the right to have a professional house inspector or third party examine the property within a certain period of time after the agreement to purchase has been signed.
The point of the contingency is to protect you from purchasing a home that may have serious structural problems or material defects that aren't plainly visible. If you have a home inspection contingency in your contract and find something terribly wrong with the home, you can walk away from the deal.
