Are you purchasing a house without performing a thorough home inspection?

Mere visual inspections – even if you perform them multiple times – will not help you to determine a property’s actual value. Pests and other infestations may be hiding within the walls. Contaminants, such as the deadly radon gas, may also be lurking inside your soon-to-be home and can be hard to detect.

Whether it’s about saving an extra $500 or outbidding another buyer, you’re just putting yourself at a disadvantage if you forego a home inspection. It’s not worth the risk of spending thousands of dollars for future repairs.

Are you still pushing through with the home purchase without a home inspection? Here are 10 reasons you shouldn’t.

10 Benefits of a Home Inspection

When buying a property, a home inspection is one crucial way to lower your risk exposure. Skipping this process can cause unnecessary gamble on such an enormous investment.

1. Provides an Opportunity for Legal “Outs”

What if it turns out the house requires numerous repairs? You can say goodbye to your deposit and brace yourself for the expensive renovations. There’s a way to legally back out though.

With a home inspection, you have a legal out in case the home has unbearable issues. A contingency clause in the contract can help you walk away legally and get your deposit back.

2. Detects Hidden Safety Risks

Most sellers would want their homes in good condition before listing them. However, there may still be some safety risks hidden even from the sellers themselves. Home inspectors can detect safety issues including:

• High radon levels
• Carbon monoxide
• Molds

To protect you and the money you invested, you should place these conditions in your home-buying contract. It protects you and gives you a chance to back out if the home inspector found any safety hazards.

3. Ensures Local Building Code Compliance

Even if you’re buying a newly built home, installations that do not adhere to the building code will be your liability if you become the owner. Second-hand houses with room additions or altered garages that do not have a permit can negatively affect your insurance and taxes as well.

Home inspections can help reveal modifications to the property. This allows you to have any alteration checked if it had permits and conforms to local building codes.

4. Scans for Essential Components

If you’re buying a short sale property, you need to have a home inspector check the house before finalizing the contract. With the low price, it may seem like you’re getting a good deal. However, make sure the bargain is not a result of a dreadful house condition.

Common problems home inspectors typically unearth are missing outdoor compressors or copper plumbing lines.

5. Acts as a Negotiation Tool

A home inspection report is an excellent negotiation tool to get a price reduction. If there are issues found that require repairs, you can use this to negotiate the price of the property.

The report from the home inspector is powerful enough to budge even the most unrelenting seller. You can work with your realtor to strike an offer that helps to cover repair costs for the house.

6. Helps Avoid Expensive Repairs

A home inspection can protect you from expensive maintenance and repair costs in the future. With it, you can determine the type of home insurance coverage you need beforehand.

Home inspectors can help you forecast future repair costs (e.g., for the HVAC and plumbing) when they examine the house. You’ll also be able to prepare your budget to accommodate future repairs or replacements.

7. Protects You from Deal-Breakers

Without a home inspection, you’re exposing yourself to deal-breakers caused by a property’s poor condition. Plus, you might buy a house that you’ll only end up selling – and at a much lower price than you got it.

A home inspection reveals what lies underneath the obvious, like water damage. It may seem to be a small leak, but an inspector will determine if the actual cause is something more serious like negative drainage. This will periodically cause basement flooding and foundation damage.

Pest infestation is another deal-breaker a home inspector can expose. Some common vermin infestations include:

• Rodents
• Termites
• Cockroaches

Termites are immensely damaging to properties, with prevention and treatment costing approximately $2.5 billion per year in the U.S. alone. Rodents and cockroaches don’t only cause damages to property but are health hazards as well.

8. Identifies if a New House is Truly Ready

Even a new home can be incomplete. Construction deadlines can cause builders to take shortcuts that may compromise a home’s foundation. Plumbing, wiring, and framing could have been haphazardly put together.

A home inspector can determine if the house is truly ready for occupancy. They can also check if the house follows current construction standards.

9. Aids in Making an Intelligent Decision

Your excitement about the home you’re about to buy could cloud your judgment on a good deal. A home inspection gives you an objective view of the property’s condition and helps make sure you have covered all bases.

10. Increases Mortgage Approval Rates

Skipping a thorough home examination, a four-point inspection in particular, can affect your mortgage application.

A four-point inspection examines electrical, plumbing, HVAC systems, as well as the house’s roof and structure. Insurance companies use it to determine possible risks in every home purchase.

If an insurance company discovers that you didn’t go through a four-point inspection, they might not issue a policy for you. With no insurance policy, lenders will not approve your mortgage application.

Avoid Unnecessary Risks When Buying a House

If you’re looking to buy a home, a home inspection is an important aspect of the process that you shouldn’t skip. A professional home inspector helps ensure you’re making an informed decision and provides invaluable insights into the inner workings of a property.