Why Use an Inspector

A good professional inspector will usually make up the fees they charge you in finding out problems with the property that you end up getting credit for. Their fees are typically around $250 for a single family home. They are usually not experts in plumbing, roofing systems, electrical etc, but they know enough to spot problems in those areas. They might advise you to seek an expert for those specialties if indicated. If you then bring in an electrician, roofer etc they also end up covering their fees in the credits you get from the seller due to repair/maintenance problems you have found. Sometimes the problems found in an inspection are so severe that the property should be dumped and you move on to the next one. More often though the problems that are found by these inspections are no big deal but if you can get $1,500 off the purchase price and the repair needed can be delayed it's a good deal for you the buyer. The third party nature and professional designation of the inspector gives you the buyer leverage to work on the seller to either fix or credit you at closing the repair cost of the discrepancies from the inspection. If you end up not buying the property because of too many problems then the inspector has saved you money by not puchasing a money pit.