Don’t Avoid a Home Inspection for an “As Is” Home Purchase

In some cases of home sales moving forward, the seller will be proceeding with the goal of selling the home “as is.” This means the seller will not be investing time or money in repairing certain minor concerns that are present, and the buyer understands this and proceeds accordingly – and in some cases, buyers assume they simply don’t need to worry about a home inspection if they’re buying as is.

At Aerolite Consulting, we’re here to tell you that this is simply untrue and could put your home purchase at considerable financial risk. Our home inspection services, which range from standard inspections to energy audits and environmental inspections for several possible contaminants, are vital for a variety of homeowners – including those considering buying a home as is. Here’s a quick primer on why this is the case.

What Does “As Is” Really Mean?

The first big issue that arises in some of these cases is one of opinion versus fact: What does “as is” really mean for a given home’s condition? This will depend on a few factors.

In most cases where no professional home inspection is carried out, the buyer and seller will simply walk through the home for a visual inspection of their own. And sure, you might pick up a few minor concerns through this method – but you won’t get anywhere near the level of information as a home inspector, who is trained to look for all sorts of things you aren’t. They provide a detailed report featuring every area here – even if the sale will proceed as is, the inspector is someone who can give you a much more detailed idea of what “as is” means in your specific case.

Third Party Objectivity

Beyond the level of detail involved, which is very important, third party home inspectors are also objective and unbiased. Both the buyer and the seller have their own interests here – the seller wants there to be as few issues as possible, while the buyer wants any such issues uncovered. There are even some unfortunate situations where sellers will outright lie. A professional home inspection, however, removes this risk.

Risk/Reward Arithmetic

In the end, this choice really comes down to some basic risk/reward arithmetic. A home inspection comes with a cost, yes, but this cost is a drop in the bucket compared to the price of the home or the potential impact of certain unseen issues that might be discovered. If you move forward with the inspection and nothing is uncovered, you’re out a small sum of money – if you avoid the inspection and something major is wrong with the home that you don’t discover until you’ve bought it, it’s on you.

For more on why even as is home sales require a home inspection, or to learn about any of our home inspections or environmental contaminant testing, speak to the staff at Aerolite Consulting today.