Don’t Skip the Home Inspection!
Written by: Remington Joseph
As many of us know, the real estate market has been in a red hot state for some time now. As we progress through 2022, more and more are predicting that this wave in the market is only going to continue as values rise. This has naturally forced most buyers into a tough position, with fierce competition creating bidding wars over the GTA’s limited inventory. What many of us may not have realized though, is that many buyers have started to take drastic measures in order to seal the deal as quickly as possible by skipping over the home inspection process. Though it might seem like a good idea for those looking to get one foot ahead of other buyers, this ultimately does much more harm than good.
The Dangers of Forgoing Home Inspections
The purpose behind home inspection is to give potential buyers foresight when it comes to their potential home. An inspection can tell buyers what problems the house currently has and what problems will eventually come up. Taking this information into account can save someone thousands of dollars and a ton of headache. In some lucky cases, sellers will provide a pre-inspection report, but this isn't something that buyers should expect or rely on when purchasing a home. An uniformed buyer is a high risk target of spending more money than they should for a property that will only continue to cost them more down the line.
A method a lot of buyers are adopting right now is bringing an inspector to look at the home after it has been purchased. This is a grave mistake that has left many buyers in tears after finding out how much they'll need to repair in order for their new home to have suitable living conditions.
The Disappearance of Home Inspectors
When we picture a seller's market, we typically only look at two angles, either the seller's who are benefiting, or the buyers having to compete. With the market in its current state however, a third party is being affected as collateral damage. With only about fifteen percent of sales across Ontario including a proper home inspection, many home inspectors are finding themselves struggling to find work. This has resulted in a steady decline of available workers as many are leaving the industry altogether. This could end up having a major effect on Canada's real estate one day if this trend continues by making it more difficult to accurately appraise homes.
How you can Protect Yourself
We understand that the market is less than ideal for buyers right now but we don't want them to be foolish. We strongly discourage the act of passing on having a proper home inspection done and instead ask seller's for access to their home to conduct a pre-offer home inspection. If seller's are expecting multiple offers, they often list their home for a week to get buyers in to see the property. Then after 6 or 7 days, they will have "offer night" where they will accept all of the offers in writing and start negotiations. During this 6 to 7 day period, however, buyers are able to schedule an inspection which will give them greater confidence for how high they may want to go in the multiple offer situation. This will still allow those buyers to submit an offer that is NOT conditional on an inspection which will play out favourably in negotiations.