Inspection & Appraisal

Is the inspection just a formality?

The opposite — it's a few hundred well-spent dollars for a professional to examine the roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC before the house becomes your problem.

Expect a long report. Every house — including new construction — generates a list. Most items are minor. What you're scanning for are the big-ticket categories: structure, water, roof, major systems, safety.

Should I be at the inspection?

Go if you possibly can, at least for the last part. An hour walking with the inspector teaches you more about your future house — where the shutoffs are, what to watch — than any document ever will.

What's the appraisal for, if I already agreed on a price?

It's an independent professional's opinion of the home's market value, ordered by the lender — because the lender is lending against the house and won't lend more than it's worth. It quietly protects you from overpaying, too.

What if it comes in below my offer?

You've got options: renegotiate the price toward the appraised value, challenge the appraisal with better comparable sales, cover the gap yourself, or — if you kept your appraisal contingency — walk away intact.

Notice how many of those options depend on contingencies you kept in Module 8? The modules are a system. 😉

The inspection found issues. Do I demand everything gets fixed?

Resist that urge. Nickel-and-diming over cosmetic items burns goodwill you may need. Focus on the significant: safety issues, structural concerns, water problems, major systems near failure.

Your levers: ask the seller to repair before closing, request a credit and handle it yourself after closing (often cleaner — you control the contractor), or adjust the price.

And if the seller refuses everything?

Then you decide with clear eyes: accept the house as-is at this price, or use your inspection contingency and keep looking. Either way, you choose — which is the whole point of inspecting first.