How do you feel waiving inspection contingency?

[Anonymous]

I was really freaked out to do this but then remembered the crap inspections I had in past that were basically useless. I try to look myself for water issues and age of systems. I’m bidding no contingencies (and still have lost every time lol)

[Anonymous]

We did pre inspection. I wouldn’t offer without one, but agree you are unlikely to get offer accepted in current environment if you have the contingency. We came ready to play - we knew what we would have to offer at our price point to get the house, and we did that right out of the gate. We got the first house we offered on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was really freaked out to do this but then remembered the crap inspections I had in past that were basically useless. I try to look myself for water issues and age of systems. I’m bidding no contingencies (and still have lost every time lol)

This. I’m convinced very few inspections are worthwhile. They typically identify unimportant issues. They also can’t open the floors or walls anyway, which is what is necessary to catch major problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did pre inspection. I wouldn’t offer without one, but agree you are unlikely to get offer accepted in current environment if you have the contingency. We came ready to play - we knew what we would have to offer at our price point to get the house, and we did that right out of the gate. We got the first house we offered on.

You are lucky. Maybe I should say you know this market well.
I m discouraged. Even though I was offering more than it’s worth, still lost to higher bids.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t waive without a pre-inspection on a house that old, but we just bought and waived it on a house built in 2016. I think a pre-inspection would catch the things I’m most concerned about. We also required access for an inspection to happen before close (no contingency though) and it was amazingly detailed and helpful to have the little things identified right away so we didn’t have to find them on our own.

[Anonymous]

All houses need work.
A buyer struggling to accept that work will be required and cannot budget for that reality may wish to reconsider purchasing.

[Anonymous]

We are struggling with feeling comfortable with this as well. But i think our current money-pit has at least made us aware of what to look for, in particular for signs of a neglectful/lazy former owner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had my current house inspected by a highly recommended inspector who teaches classes to train inspectors (or so I was told). I found the inspection to be pretty superficial, and the inspector definitely missed some big ticket issues. I was not impressed at all.

With that said, I'd still be hesitant to waive the inspection because, who knows, maybe the inspector will actually find something that's a big deal.

What did they miss?

Which company so others can avoid them?

I would need to do some digging to find the name, as this was 15 years ago. But the big ticket items were a kitchen pipe that was routed through an area with inadequate insulation, such that it was prone to freezing and bursting (which it did, on two occasions); given the location and design of the kitchen, this actually should have been easy to detect and could have been found without digging into any walls. Also, given the steepness and height of the roof (it's a townhouse), the inspector wasn't willing to go up there, and just said that the roof generally seemed fine -- well, it wasn't and needed replacement a few years later. I am told that going on the roof is pretty standard for inspectors, but to be totally honest, I don't think my inspector was in good enough physical shape to do it.

The inspector focused on stuff like whether outlets, appliances, and faucets worked, which is obviously stuff I could have done myself.

[Anonymous]

Do a pre inspection

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had inspections on two properties we owned, both by "highly regarded" inspectors. Each had 1-2 huge whiffs on major issues that came to light within a few months of ownership. Inspectors don't have xray vision or predictive powers. And some good inspectors have a bad day and miss fairly noticeable things. Everybody buyer/new homeowner wants to wear a "good" inspection like a warm cloak...and it does feel great until water starts coming through your kitchen walls during a rainstorm.

Houses have expensive issues that inevitably arise, and you should plan to pay up while you own.

Anyway, when buying this time around and seeing that everybody was waiving inspections, we asked our realtor how much higher our offers would have to be to get one accepted with an inspection contingency. His answer: 10-20k at the pp we were looking at. We decided it wasn't worth it and started doing pre-inspections. It worked out fine.

Could you recommend any good inspector(s)?

NP. We used Matt for a walk and talk inspection on one house. Didn’t have money to do on every house we offered on but also felt like he had showed us enough that we knew what to look for on our own. Obviously not the same, but we eventually bought without an inspection and so far so good.
http://www.mariettadc.com/

[Anonymous]

Couple of thoughts here.

1. Do a pre-bid inspection. In this market it is the cost of doing business. Spend the money up front so you now what you don't know (but see #2 below).

2. You place WAY too much import on the value of inspections. Inspections are generally a racket. The inspectors will catch major issues but they cannot and will not catch issues behind walls, well disguised issues or major mechanical items that haven't yet happened. They can tell you if a roof needs to be replaced or there is readily apparent structural damage but not a heck of a lot else. You won't get more value from a post-bid inspection than you will from a pre-bid inspection.

[Anonymous]

It's like an arranged marriage, you hope for the best. Either way you are stuck with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was really freaked out to do this but then remembered the crap inspections I had in past that were basically useless. I try to look myself for water issues and age of systems. I’m bidding no contingencies (and still have lost every time lol)

This. I’m convinced very few inspections are worthwhile. They typically identify unimportant issues. They also can’t open the floors or walls anyway, which is what is necessary to catch major problems.

Inspectors have to 'find' something to put in the report so sometimes they list items defect items that are insignificant, just adds to the stress.

[Anonymous]

All the inspections we’ve had have come up with a whole bunch of superficial issues. It’s rare for them to actually be able to find real issues.

Can’t you peak around the house? Check for water damage. Look for cracks basement walls. Check out the attic/crawl space etc. make sure everything is dry. Look the way the water flows through the yard outside.

It is nerve wracking for sure. The inspection gives you a little peace of mind. But when you think about it, they have very little liability and most likely won’t find major issues even if they exist. Issues they would pick up would have either already been dealt with by the owners or at least covered up by the owners.

[Anonymous]

As others have noted, inspections are superficial and full of flaws, at best. At worst, they are outright ripoffs.

Take a few hours to watch videos on Youtube. It is not that difficult to learn what to look for on major things - signs of a cracked foundation, signs of major water leaks, signs of out-of-date plumbing or electrical systems. Educate yourself, and don't sweat waiving inspections.