Every buyer has a right to a home inspection and it is important that buyers budget for inspections. There are five components to the inspection. They are: structural, pest/termite, radon, well, and septic. Alexander Monticello explains a bit more about home inspections in the video below.

Alex explains that, “When you are doing the structural inspection, they are looking for any defect that costs more than $1500 to repair.”  One thing to note is that you can’t take three different items that are $500 each so they equal the $1500 amount.

The radon inspection is important to test in the lowest level of living space in the home – typically the basement. If there are levels of radon found, a radon mitigation system can easily fix the problem.

The pest inspection is important and often times if a pest or a termite is found in the house – that will give a reason for a buyer to walk away. Alex says that, “The seller is under no obligation to address the issue, but it does give the buyer the right to negotiate.”

Well and septic inspections are typically only performed on houses that do not have city water, or sewer. When an inspector tests the well, they are looking at the flow rate of the water, and checking to make sure the water is drinkable.  When the septic is being inspected, they are looking at the holding tank and making sure the leach field is taking on water properly.

Alex explains that when the inspection defect is invoked under the contract, the buyer has two options. “They can cancel the contract and get their deposit back, or they can invoke a 10 day deferral, where they will further investigate the issue, or the item that the inspector identified. The seller is under no obligation to do any repair or give any credit to the buyer under the inspection contingency.”

If the seller refuses to do anything to fix the problems, the buyer has a decision to make. They can move forward knowing the issues, or they can cancel the contract and get their deposit back.

Alex reiterates that, “Every buyer has a right to a home inspection. It will be written into the contract. If you are looking to buy a house, it’s incredibly important to budget for a home inspection.”