Getting a Home Inspection: What You Need to Know
Buying a House In Tacoma
For the past few years, the real estate market in Tacoma and the surrounding Pierce County area has been booming! With low interest rates and a lot of buyers, that meant it was a very strong seller’s market. The good part of a seller’s market is… being a seller! The difficult part is… everything else. Unfortunately when the market is a strong seller’s market, that means that there are usually a lot of buyers competing for the same property. This often results in people paying more for the property than is being asked, and buyers waiving their inspections. Although it’s understandable why this happened, it is truly a dangerous thing to do.
Market Shift in Pierce County
With the current shift to a balanced market, what this means is that buyers are now able to get offers accepted with inspections attached and the ability to NEGOTIATE! Having a local real estate agent who knows what to look for, and what the big ticket items are is key! Waiving an inspection is only a good idea if you are fully prepared to pay for a new roof, plumbing, foundation etc.
Getting a Competent Home Inspector
The first tactic you want is to have a good inspector. Your inspection should take around 2 hours, and always get a sewer scope as well. An inspector has a general knowledge of all things house related, and anything they aren’t sure of, they can reference in their inspection report that “additional inspections” should be required. Hopefully your agent wrote in additional days in the case of this happening!
Strategizing Your Inspection Response
After your inspection is completed, there are different strategies that can be used to help you negotiate for the best possible outcome. It’s good to think about what are make or break items on the inspection report and then devise a strategy that will get you the most. We don’t want to share all of our secrets with the entire internet, but feel free to reach for more specific information regarding this strategy. There are also different reasons to request that the seller does the work, or gives you a credit instead so that you can use your own contractor instead after close. There are pros and cons to both options- of which we’re happy to discuss! At the end of the day, you should be happy with the house that you’re getting, the price that you’re paying, and the scope of work that is going to be needed on the property. The biggest thing that we can impart with you is that knowledge is key, and everything that comes up in a house CAN be fixed, it’s just a matter of for how much and if you have the capacity to fix it.
