It’s never too late to have your home inspected
Recently I was contacted by a client who heard about me from a friend. He wanted a home inspection on his house, except the inspection wasn’t for a house he was planning on buying, he already bought the house. He was going to be taking possession of the home on Friday, moving in over the weekend, and wanted me to inspect the home first thing on Monday.
In a blazing hot real estate market he felt pressure to put forward a subject-free offer, and thankfully, his offer was accepted. Like many buyers, he only viewed the home for about 20 minutes and he and his realtor presented the offer 3 hours later. He said he knew there was a risk there would be costly deficiencies that he’d need to correct urgently. He said he had about $6,000 or $7,000 set aside for repairs, and he wanted to know the condition of the home and have a good idea of what he was starting with. There were several deficiencies in the home, but luckily for him I didn’t find anything that was a life-safety issue or something that was going to cost more than about $10,000. In my experience about 70% of post-purchase inspections are “good”, but in about 30% of them we find something major and the client really regrets not knowing about it earlier.
The reasons are obvious why the majority of home inspections take place prior to subject removal, when potential buyers are in the advanced stages of purchasing a home, and wanting to understand the property and its systems. There are several types of home inspections, but in countries like Canada, the United States, Australia, and the UK, approximately 95% of home inspections are pre-purchase inspections. This number is getting smaller though.
Hot real-estate markets throughout Canada since the middle of 2020 have put pressure on Realtors and buyers to present stronger, more aggressive offers, and some buyers are omitting inspections. While there are major risks of skipping a pre-purchase inspection, the good news is most buyers are still getting an inspection, they’re just getting one after the deal is closed and they’ve already taken possession of their property. This past month alone, nearly 20% of Daylight Home Inspections Kelowna’s inspections were for clients that want to know the condition of their new home, immediately after taking possession.
There are several opportunities for a property to be inspected by a professional home inspector during its lifetime, and 5 main types of home inspections:
The first opportunity usually comes when a home is new. A New Build Inspection, or Home Warranty Inspection has become common in the past couple of decades. This type of inspection should take place within the first year or two of a home being built, especially for homes that carry a 2-5-10 warranty. Any deficiencies that are found can be brought to the builder’s attention and hopefully corrected. Older homes generally did not have warranties and weren’t inspected by home inspectors, only municipal building inspectors.
When an owner is thinking about listing their home for sale, they can engage a home inspector to check their home. We call this a Pre-Listing Inspection and it’s a great way for the seller to become aware of any important conditions that might affect the sale, and correct them, if they choose to.
In a seller’s market where there might be several offers, some wise potential buyers arrange a Pre-Offer Inspection. This is the same scope as all of the other types, but it takes place in the days preceding the listing Realtor accepting offers. The benefit to this is that the potential buyer is doing their due diligence before pulling the trigger on an offer. The only drawback is that the buyer may end up paying for more than one home inspection as they hunt and compete for several homes in a hot market.
The most common type of inspection is done for the potential buyer, usually once there is an accepted offer, during the subject removal period. We call this a Pre-Purchase Inspection and it makes up, by far, the majority of home inspections in North America.
Finally, there’s a Post-Possession Inspection, or Home Ownership Inspection. This can be organized any time, for any home owner (or occupant), but it’s best if it can be arranged as soon as possible, once they take possession of their home. Many home owners like to buy a Home Ownership Inspection once every couple of years, to keep close tabs on the condition of their home.
Post-purchase, or Home ownership inspections have become a reality. Some buyers set aside budget for unforeseen expenses and cross their fingers, hoping they won’t need to dip into those funds. It’s certainly a big gamble, but clearly one that some are willing to take. As professional home inspectors, we can come in within the first few days of possession and do a complete inspection of the home’s systems. We can even provide several maintenance tips and recommendations that will help the new owner create a scope and timeline for upgrades and improvements to the home.
It’s never too late to have your home inspected. In fact, having your home inspected immediately after possession allows you to gain important knowledge about the home and it’s components, create a maintenance schedule, and still start home ownership on the right foot.
