Are Home Inspections Necessary?

     I recently came across this article in the Washington Times regarding home inspections in the DC real estate market. I was not surprised to hear that more and more transactions are dealing with listings being sold "as-is". The majority of foreclosures and short sales are listed as an "as-is" sale, and for good reason. Most banks will not make repairs to a property. They are already losing money and normally the buyer is getting the property far below market value. There are exceptions to this, so it is always worth a try to get the bank to commit funds for a repair or to have the issue corrected.

     As far as the title of this blog is concerned, I have never and will never recommend to my clients to forgo a property inspection. I think to do so would be dangerous for me as a professional and may lead someone to have a false sense of security in a property that may or may not be founded.


     I think nothing bad can come from a licensed home inspector examining a home you are preparing to purchase, even new construction! I'm not saying that an inspector will find every last defect in a property or that he can see through walls, but a second or third set of eyes can always be beneficial. Also, an inspection report can come in handy if you need to renegotiate some aspects of the purchase or use it as an excuse to back out of the deal.


    What do you think? Have you purchased a home with or without getting an inspection? Would you do it differently the next time? Visit my website, www.allhomes4me.com, for buyer and seller tips and access to my resource of recommended inspectors and other professionals.