By Barry Stone
Dear Barry,
Before buying my home, I hired a home inspector but was unable to attend the inspection. Now I'm overwhelmed by problems that were listed in the report but which were not clear to me at the time. If I'd just understood the inspector's findings, I might not have bought the house, or I'd have insisted that the seller make repairs. Please warn your readers not to make this mistake. - Carl
Dear Carl,
Too many home buyers miss a great opportunity by not attending their home inspection. Sometimes this is unavoidable, due to geographical restraints. But whenever possible, buyers are strongly urged to participate in the inspection process. Being on site during the inspection, viewing specific conditions in person, consulting with the inspector, asking questions and obtaining advice greatly magnify the overall benefit to you, the buyer.
A home inspection is a fact-finding mission in which the inspector is your hired advocate. You and your inspector are there to learn as much as possible about the condition of the property and to jointly engage in the discovery process.
Prior to the inspection, most buyers make a purchase offer based upon a 15-minute walk-through or run-through. At that point, they know very little about a very expensive commodity. The home inspection provides buyers their only opportunity to slowly and methodically view and consider the object of their investment. During the inspection, they have hours to voice questions and concerns as they evaluate their prospective purchase. Buyers have even been known to point out conditions the inspector might otherwise have missed.
Buyer attendance enables the inspector to fully explain the meaning and importance of each condition noted in the inspection report. When buyers are not present at the inspection, conditions noted in the report must be read and interpreted without explanation. Lacking a verbal review of the findings, a buyer may over-react to minor disclosures, while failing to appreciate the importance of more serious ones. The on-site review provided by an inspector may be the most informative aspect of the entire home inspection process. If circumstances prevent a buyer from attending the inspection, a telephone conference with the inspector is strongly urged.
The lesson you learned is a hard one: If you miss the inspection, you may also miss the boat.
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