While many prospective buyers budget for their down payment, they often fail to account for additional costs required to appraise the home, draft the loan, perform a title search, and perform an inspection.
Unfortunately, in hotly contested real estate markets across Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania, home inspections have fallen by the wayside as a short-term cost-saving strategy and to make the buyer’s offer more appealing.
While home inspections are another added cost on top of an already expensive purchase, it’s one of the most important financial decisions you can make to protect the purchase of your home.
With that said, it’s important to know when to perform a home inspection, who is responsible for it, who is responsible for the repairs, and how to use the home inspection to your advantage.
When Does the Home Inspection Take Place?
Both buyers and sellers may be responsible for the home inspection, depending on who initiates it. In our many years of experience performing home inspections across Northeast PA, we generally see two common scenarios in which the buyer or seller will request an inspection.
Buyer’s Inspections
In a traditional real estate transaction, the buyer requests a home inspection shortly after an offer is made on the home and it is accepted by the seller. The home inspection thus enables the buyer to uncover any issues that may affect the final price of the home and use this information to help them negotiate a better rate.
Most importantly, the home inspection ensures the buyer that any investment they make will not come with any unexpected repairs that could harm them financially after the sale of the home.
Benefits of Buyer’s Inspections
- Protects buyers from repairs that can be made before the completion of the sale.
- Gives buyers peace of mind that they will not be saddled with repairs they cannot afford.
- Allows buyers to negotiate a lower price if there are issues uncovered.
- Provides buyers with an unbiased view of the home, even if the seller has performed their own inspection.
Pre-Listing Inspections
In recent years, many sellers have opted to perform pre-listing inspections in order to market their homes to sellers and avoid any costly repairs that could derail the closing process. This is typically performed before listing the home to avoid costly delays that may inhibit the seller’s ability to move forward with their own separate home purchase.
Benefits of Pre-Listing Inspections
- Expedite the sale of home to buyers who may choose to forgo an inspection if one has already been provided.
- Make the home more attractive to buyers, which could end up raising the final sales price.
- Avoid costly delays that may threaten the sale of the home and also inhibit the seller’s ability to move forward with any separate transactions that depend on this one.
Who Pays for the Home Inspection?
Ultimately, the party responsible for performing the inspection will pay for it. However, in some situations, the buyer may be able to bundle the home inspection into the final closing costs if the seller agrees to this arrangement.
Nevertheless, in most circumstances, the home inspection is considered separate from other closing costs and is usually the responsibility of the buyer if he/she requests the inspection.
Separate home inspections, such as an indoor air quality test or radon inspection, are usually paid for separately by the buyer unless the seller wants to perform these tests.
How Much Does a Home Inspection Cost?
If you are responsible for paying for the home inspection, you can expect to pay an average of $342 nationwide and between $200 and $500 in Pennsylvania. Some factors that may impact the cost of the home inspection include:
- The location of the home
- The square footage of the home
- The age of the home
- The number of issues with the home
Keep in mind that, unlike a deposit, you cannot be refunded for a home inspection if you are unsatisfied with the results.
How Much Does a Home Inspection Cost?
If you are responsible for paying for the home inspection, you can expect to pay an average of $342 nationwide and between $200 and $500 in Pennsylvania. Some factors that may impact the cost of the home inspection include:
- The location of the home
- The square footage of the home
- The age of the home
- The number of issues with the home
Keep in mind that, unlike a deposit, you cannot be refunded for a home inspection if you are unsatisfied with the results.
Who’s Responsible for Home Inspection Repairs?
In most cases, the seller will be responsible for performing any repairs on a home to complete the transaction. In Pennsylvania, home inspectors are forbidden from providing specific quotes on home repairs, and these prices are to be negotiated by the seller and the third-party providing them.
Do Seller’s Typically Get a Copy of the Inspection
In most cases, the seller will not be provided with a copy of the inspection report if the buyer pays for it. The seller will be notified of any repairs or issues that the buyer finds unsatisfactory. This is why we urge sellers to perform a pre-listing inspection so they can get their own copy to compare against anything that may come up on the buyer’s inspection and use during negotiation.
If the seller and buyer share the inspection cost as part of closing, the seller will be provided with a copy.
Of course, if the seller requests and pays for the inspection, they will receive a copy of the report.
Home Inspections Benefit Buyers and Sellers
In negotiation, knowledge is power and therefore we recommend that both buyers and sellers perform their own home inspection. While it may seem redundant, it empowers both parties during negotiation and a pre-listing inspection can expedite the sale of the home by allowing the seller to take care of any repairs before the actual closing process.
Most importantly, it will provide both parties with greater peace of mind.
If you need a thorough and honest home inspection in NEPA, trust only the best. Trust an InterNACHI-certified home inspection from Mountain to Valley Home Inspections. Contact us today for your free quote!