What is a home inspection?
A home inspection is an objective, professional, third-party assessment of specific aspects of a house. It covers various aspects, including water damage, insect or pest infestation, the roof’s condition, your home’s electrical system, plumbing issues, and any structural or foundation issues. Inspections are about ensuring the safety of the home and typically take a few hours to complete for an average-sized home.
Home inspection is often discussed as if it’s a pass or fail test with sellers and buyers alike saying that they hope the home “passes inspection.” But in reality, the process is much more nuanced, and “passing the inspection” is a relative term that depends on individual home inspectors, buyers, and sellers.
In the process of closing a home sale, the buyer typically hires a home inspector to come to the house and perform a visual observation to confirm the state of the home and identify any issues that pose a health or safety issue that the buyer should be aware of before purchasing the home.
We’ll get into the nitty-gritty of what they look for a little later, but Tim Buell, the former president of the American Society of Home Inspectors, says “We look for things that are significantly deficient, unsafe, near the end of the service life, or not functioning properly.”
ASHI provides a Standard of Practice that guides inspectors in conducting home inspections, addressing everything from the exterior to the plumbing system. Home inspectors focus on health, safety, or major mechanical issues.
Remember, because an inspection is not a pass or fail test, it will open the door for renegotiation. You’re not obligated to fix anything, but the buyer can also walk away if they’re not satisfied.
When does a home inspection happen during a home sale?
There are two types of home inspections in a home sale: a seller’s inspection (or a pre-listing inspection) and a buyer’s inspection. A seller’s inspection happens before the home is listed. Some sellers choose to get their home inspected as they’re beginning to prepare their house for sale so they can fix any potential issues beforehand and save time in the closing process. We’ll touch on the positives and negatives of a pre-inspection a little later.
A buyer’s inspection occurs after you’ve accepted a buyer’s offer but before closing the sale. After a home inspection, the buyer may be able to renegotiate their offer or request repairs if certain issues come up. In some cases, the buyer may walk away from the purchase if the home inspection reveals more issues than they’re willing to deal with.
One other important distinction: Mortgage lenders do not require a home inspection for buyers to obtain a home loan. The lender typically orders the appraisal, but requesting a home inspection is the buyer’s choice — and it’s highly recommended.
Though many buyers choose to include an inspection contingency, the number often depends on the current market. According to the National Association of Realtors® December 2024 survey, 20% of buyers waived the inspection contingency, down from 24% a year earlier.
What to expect during the home inspection process
A typical home inspection takes a few hours for an average-sized house. Then the home inspection report takes about three to four days to complete. The home inspector will go through the interior and exterior of the house to record any broken or defective systems and hazardous issues.
Buell emphasizes, “The key thing that we look for are safety issues.”
Who should be present during the home inspection?
Typically, the buyer and buyer’s agent are present during the home inspection, and often the seller’s agent. The home seller is allowed to stick around, but most industry experts advise against it. Sellers are often emotionally involved in the home, and it can be difficult to listen to the inspector tell the potential buyer and their agent about defects or problems.
Thomas Day, a top real estate agent who sells homes 42% faster than an average agent in Pompano Beach, Florida, is always at the inspection when working with clients, regardless of whether they are a buyer or seller.
“If I’m working with the buyer, we can see first hand what the problem is. If I’m working with the seller, I know exactly what he’s looking at and can either rebut it or find an expert,” Day says. “Sometimes the house is crowded. Sometimes the inspector and the agent are the only ones there.”
Consider if you were the buyer. You would want to feel comfortable talking openly with the inspector you hired and ask frank questions about the condition of the home. If, as a seller, you order a pre-listing home inspection, the inspector is working for you, and you should absolutely be there.
In short, whoever arranges and schedules the home inspection should always be present while the home inspector is there.
