Getting a Home Inspection Before Buying a Home? Don't Fall Into This Trap

Rocket Mortgage says it typically takes 30 to 45 days to close on a home after making an offer to purchase it. And there's a good reason for that.

First of all, the process of closing on your home loan itself takes time because your mortgage lender needs to verify your financial information via a process known as underwriting. And aside from securing your mortgage, you'll also need to make sure your home is in the condition you think it's in before finalizing your sale.

To that end, it's common practice to have the house you're buying undergo a home inspection. And it's a good idea to attend your inspection rather than just wait for the report that comes out of it. That way, you can ask questions along the way.

But while your home inspector may be in a good position to spot flaws with your home, they're not necessarily the right person to estimate the cost of having them dealt with. And that's an important thing to keep in mind so you don't lose out financially.

A mistake you don't want to make

Sometimes, a home inspector will give an estimate of what they think it will cost to address a given issue with a property, whether it's a problem with the roof, heating system, plumbing, or foundation. They may be giving you that estimate based on their knowledge of the home industry.

But chances are, your home inspector doesn't go around fixing roofs, re-running plumbing, or replacing heating systems. Rather, your home inspector's job is to identify problems with living spaces and warn buyers of what they're getting into.

As such, you really don't want to rely too heavily on the estimates a home inspector gives you for addressing problems with the home you're looking to buy. Instead, what you really want to do before closing on that home is to talk to a contractor who specializes in addressing the issue at hand.

If there's a problem with the roof, that means calling in a roofer. If plumbing is the issue, talk to a plumber. See what those professionals have to say about the cost of fixing the problem, because it may or may not align with what your home inspector tells you.

You may have an out

Most home purchase contracts include a home inspection contingency that allows you, as a seller, to walk away if issues with the property are discovered and the seller won't address them or deduct their cost from your purchase price. If the property you're buying has problems and your seller won't step up to fix them or offer a substantial enough discount on your purchase price, then you can generally back out of the deal and get your deposit back.

That's why it's so important to know what numbers you're really dealing with. You don't want to ask your seller for a $10,000 discount on your home's purchase price to fix the roof if it will really cost $20,000.

Your home inspector may have the best of intentions when estimating the cost of home repairs. But always talk to a contractor before completing a sale or negotiating with your seller to play it safe.