Welcome to the most critical phase of buying your home: the inspection and due diligence period. I want you to view this time as a strategic audit, not a search for perfection. Our goal is to ensure you are buying a safe, functional home that won’t become a financial “lemon” the moment you move in.
I’ve seen deals collapse nine out of ten times because the buyer didn’t have the right expectations set up front. That stops now. We are going to walk through this process together to keep your transaction on the rails and focused on the facts.
This document will cover our strategy for managing the inspection report, understanding the inspector’s job, and knowing exactly what we can—and cannot—ask the seller to fix.
Stop the Panic: Understanding the Inspection Report
When you receive the inspection report, it’s going to look daunting. I’m telling you this now: it is going to scare you. Expect a document that is 40 to 50 pages long.
The length is not an indicator of a bad house. It’s simply the inspector’s way of documenting every single thing they see, often with many photos.
Your Action Plan for Reviewing the Report
Do not read the report from page one. We need to filter the noise and focus only on what’s critical.
- Skip to the Summary: Your main focus should be the bottom part—the summary section. This is where the inspector highlights items that are genuinely defective, broken, or not working.
- Look for the Benchmark: A house with less than five red items in the summary is generally considered a clean inspection, even with 40-plus pages of documentation.
- Review the Marginal List: The report will include a separate list of marginal items that need maintenance or attention. These are great tips for future homeowner maintenance, but they are typically not items we negotiate with the seller.
- Wait for My Opinion: Before you react, I will review the report and give you my professional opinion. I will help you prioritize what truly matters versus what is common wear-and-tear.
Defining the Scope: What We Can Negotiate
The most important distinction we must make is between functional issues (what the seller must fix) and cosmetic issues (what you already agreed to buy).
The Inspector’s Fiduciary Duty
The inspector, Doug, works for you, the buyer. His job is to go through that house and find everything—structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, even chipped paint. If it’s going to “piss you off when you move in,” he’s going to try and find it now.
However, the inspector is focused on functional, operational, and safety components. It is not an aesthetic inspection.
The Two Rules for Negotiation
We are not going to give the seller a reason to cancel the deal by making unreasonable demands. Here is our negotiation strategy:
- We Negotiate for Broken Items: We will ask the seller to repair or provide a credit for items that are broken or not working. This includes things like:
- Water leaks.
- Non-working outlets.
- Broken roof tiles or structural trusses.
- Any major safety hazard, such as an issue with a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupter).
- We Do Not Negotiate for Old but Working Systems: We are not going to ask for money for something simply because it is old. The home’s price already reflects the age of its systems or the need for updating. If the air conditioner is old but functioning, we don’t ask for a replacement.
Key Takeaway: We are focused on making sure you are not “taking on a project” or buying a lemon—not on forcing the seller to do a major renovation.
The Agent’s Workflow: Setting the Ground Rules
My job is to represent you and ensure you get this house after you’ve told me, “I want it. I’m buying it”. The preparation starts long before the inspection day.
Pre-Inspection Preparation
You need to know the ground rules going into this process.
- Cost and Time: The inspection will cost roughly $500 to $600 depending on the size of the home. It typically takes one hour per 1,000 square feet, plus an extra half hour if the house has a pool.
- Cosmetic Issues are Pre-Offer: If we noticed something cosmetic—like dirty carpet, outdated tile countertops, or a specific pest issue—we address that in the initial offer (RPA), not through the inspection request. We fight that one fight upfront.
- Example: We saw the pigeons on the covered patio at the Badger Glen property, so we made sure the seller agreed to take care of it in the offer.
Optimizing Inspection Day Attendance
Please plan to arrive only for the last 15 to 30 minutes of the inspection.
- Protecting the Inspector’s Focus: When a buyer stays the whole time, they distract the inspector with questions and personal anecdotes, which can throw him off his routine. This can stretch a two-hour inspection into four or five hours.
- High-Value Time: The last 15 minutes is the most valuable time for you. The inspector will walk you through the most important findings and give you maintenance tips and tricks directly. This gives you comfort and confidence.
Protecting Against Seller Conflict
I will ensure you are never in the house unrepresented.
If the seller is present, I or a team member must be there. We cannot risk putting a buyer and seller in the same house without a realtor, as sellers can get difficult or “nasty” when their home is scrutinized.
Special Scenarios: Seniors and New Construction
If You Are a Senior Client
If you are a senior, Doug the inspector has specific methods to ensure you receive the information clearly.
- Volume Upgrade: Doug will speak louder to ensure everything is heard.
- Layman’s Terms: He is practiced at breaking down engineering concepts into simple language.
- Simple Analogies: He might use an easy-to-understand analogy to describe a functional failure, such as saying the water heater is like “your knees feel in the morning”.
Inspections on New Construction
Yes, we absolutely use an inspector on a new home sale. Even a house built last year or two years ago will have a lengthy report. We need a professional to verify that all systems are operational and safe, as issues can always be missed by the builder.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the primary cause of deals failing after a home inspection?
The primary cause is the real estate agent failing to set proper buyer expectations before the inspection. Buyers often panic when they receive a 40-50 page report and mistakenly believe the house is a “lemon” with “too many things wrong,” even when the issues are minor or cosmetic.
What is the actual scope of a home inspector’s work?
The scope of work is to check the functional, operational, and safety aspects of the house. This includes the structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. It is explicitly not an aesthetic inspection and does not cover cosmetic issues like chipped paint or dirty carpet.
How much does a home inspection cost and how long does it take?
The cost generally ranges from approximately $500 to $600 for a standard home, though the least amount is around $375 now. The duration is typically calculated as one hour per 1,000 square feet of living space, with an additional half-hour needed if the property has a pool.
Should the buyer attend the entire home inspection?
No, the buyer should ideally only attend the last 15 to 30 minutes. This prevents them from distracting the inspector and allows for a focused review of major findings, maintenance recommendations, and “tips and tricks”.
What is the difference between negotiating for functional items versus cosmetic items?
Functional items are things that are defective, broken, or unsafe (e.g., a water leak or a non-working outlet), and these are the only items you should negotiate for the seller to repair or credit. Cosmetic items (e.g., worn carpet, old but working systems) should be addressed in the initial offer (RPA), not during the inspection period, to avoid conflict.
How should I prepare if I am a senior client for the inspection?
If you are a senior client, the inspector will employ a “volume upgrade” (talking louder) and focus on using layman’s terms and simple, relatable analogies to explain complex findings. This ensures clarity and comfort.
Can you use an inspector for a brand new construction home?
Yes, an inspector should be used even on a new home sale. Even a one- or two-year-old home will still produce a lengthy report, and an inspector can find safety and operational issues missed during the builder’s process.
Your Next Steps
- Trust the Process: Remember, we are focused on structural, mechanical, and safety issues. Don’t let the sheer volume of the report derail the deal.
- Attend Only the End: Arrive only for the last 15-30 minutes to receive the high-value summary and maintenance tips directly from the inspector.
- Prioritize the Red Items: When you look at the report, focus only on the broken or non-working items. Less than five is a clean slate.
- Connect the Negotiation to Functionality: If it works, even if it’s old, we don’t ask the seller to fix it. If it’s broken, we negotiate for the repair or a credit.
- Let Me Be Your Filter: I am here to interpret the report, keep your expectations realistic, and execute the best possible negotiation to get you into your new home.
