Why are people using Home Inspectors? Are they just a scam?
You know when you buy a used car privately, and you dicker over who pays for having the car “certified”? That’s similar to the situation with a Home Inspection Report. It is a document that a third party has issued to say there is nothing wrong with the house. With a car, the person who is responsible for the certification pays for the repairs needed to make it certifiable. That’s why you dicker. You either buy it with the certificate, or you buy it “as is” and pay for the repairs yourself. With the house, there is no “as is” (except for a Power of Sale but that’s a whole other FAQ.) If there are defects discovered by the Home Inspector, and if the buyer’s Realtor has done his job properly, there are provisions in the offer to either make the Seller pay for the repairs or to get the Buyer out of the deal. The Home Inspection really does benefit the Buyer by avoiding nasty expensive surprises. It also benefits the Vendors because it takes some of the anxiety out of buying an older home
