Florida’s housing market ebbs and flows, but sometimes, you may find yourself competing with multiple other homebuyers for the same property. In a competitive real estate market, you may question whether waiving a home inspection might give you a leg up on the competition. However, it is generally a bad idea to skip a home inspection, and doing so may put you at a clear disadvantage.
According to Realtor.com, there are two important reasons not to skip the home inspection, both of which appear below.
Home inspections uncover defects
The main point of a home inspection is to find out if a home has any significant problems that might make you reconsider buying it. Many of the defects uncovered by a home inspection are not visible to the naked eye, meaning you have no way to find out about them in the absence of a home inspection. These defects may come back to bite you after you buy the home and have the potential to cost you quite a bit of time and money to fix.
Home inspections give you negotiating power
If a home inspection does turn up significant damage or defects, then this may help you negotiate with the seller. You may be able to have the seller contribute to closing costs to make up for the defect, or you may be able to have the seller knock some money off the asking price.
How much negotiating power a home inspection gives you might depend on several factors. How long the home was on the market is one such variable, and how competitive the market is in the area you are searching is another.