Do I Need a Home Inspection? With Owen Kennedy

Oct 17

Home inspections are a hot topic in the real estate world. Are they worth the money? Is it an important clause to include when buying a home? Is it really necessary to bring in an expert? Can’t I see major issues just by touring the house myself?

We spoke with one of our New Purveyors agents, Owen Kennedy, about why home inspections are so important, and what they can do for you before you buy a home.

Owen told us that “home inspections are anywhere from $400-$600, and will typically help you save money in the long term.” This is because a home inspection can help you find major issues that may otherwise cost you thousands of dollars, or, because “a home inspection will allow you to better negotiate with sellers when you are purchasing,” Owen explains.

“Pictures and quotes from a home inspector can be easily brought up as concrete facts when asking for price reductions,” Owen continues. This is crucial because if these items are found once a price is decided on, it will be much harder for you to negotiate with the sellers. The same can be said if you notice an issue within the home on one of your walkthroughs. Because you don’t do this for a career and are most likely not professionally trained in finding issues within a house, it may be harder for you to use your own notes to negotiate a price.

Finally, even if you don’t find any major issues through your home inspection that would merit a price reduction, there are still benefits to getting one done. Owen tells us “the inspection will also give you a checklist of things you will need to be aware of over time for maintenance. These may be weekend warrior types of issues, or, you can start setting aside money now so that when the time comes, the financial impact of a repair feels smaller.”

This is crucial for home ownership. At some time, most things in your home will need to be replaced. Things like the roof, interlocking, and appliances may need to be fully redone, and other things may need updating. If you have an idea of how long you have until these updates need to be done, it’ll remove some of the financial burden by giving you adequate time to prepare.

Interested in learning more? Send Owen Kennedy a message now to get in touch.