Should the home buyer attend the inspection?

Should the home buyer be present for the inspection?

I’ve completed real estate inspections for hundreds of clients all over West Texas. There are many real estate related topics that everyone seems to have an opinion on, but one that’s near & dear to my heart is based on homebuyer expectations vs. reality.

Probably every property inspector out there has been asked whether it’s okay for the buyer to attend the home inspection. Some inspectors answer” no”, in part because they want to provide the best inspection possible for their client, or they’re afraid of the liability that can come from the inspector being personally responsible for what might happen while at the home. Both of these points have validity, and as an inspector, I have experienced the worst case scenarios when it comes to each of these points. But that doesn’t mean I don’t believe that the home buyer (or client) should be present at the home inspection. In fact, quite the opposite. Humor me for a moment:

Let’s play ‘What would you do?’ (John Quinones from ABC News sold separately!)

Scenario #1 - Julie is looking to buy a home. She’s found one she loves. She makes an offer on the home and it’s accepted. She has 10 days to have the home inspected, per the contract with the seller. Julie locates an inspector with a great reputation. Julie asks the inspector beforehand if it’s okay to attend the inspection with the inspector. The inspector has no issues with her attending the inspection. The date of the inspection is here!
(Now this is where it gets interesting!)
The home inspector arrives to inspect. The home inspector seems to do a thorough job inspecting the home. Julie doesn’t follow him around the whole time, but she is observant. At the end of the inspection, the inspector reviews his findings with Julie. Later, Julie receives a report from the inspector which names some of the defects he shared with her already, as well as a few others. Julie is happy to know where she stands!
Fast forward a bit: Julie has asked the seller to fix a few of the “major” defects found at the inspection, and the seller has agreed.
A little further in the future: Time for Julie to move in!
1 week after move in:: The dishwasher quit working. No washy. No scrubby. No nothing!

Now….

Scenario #2 - Julie is looking to buy a home. She’s found one she loves. She makes an offer on the home and it’s accepted. She has 10 days to have the home inspected, per the contract with the seller. Julie locates an inspector with a great reputation. Julie will not be able to attend any of the inspection, but she is confident that it will go well. The date of the inspection is here!
(Now this is where it gets interesting!)
The home inspector arrives to inspect.  Later, Julie receives a report from the inspector. Much of what she sees on the report is a bit overwhelming. Every defect listed on the report could mean the END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT, or be no big deal. She’s not sure, because she is not a home inspector. In fact, because she didn’t attend the inspection, she’s never even personally met a home inspector. Any home inspector.  Is this defect a major issue? What about that defect???
Fast forward a bit: Julie has asked the seller to fix a few of the “major” defects found at the inspection, and the seller has agreed.
A little further in the future: Time for Julie to move in!
1 week later: The dishwasher quit working. No washy. No scrubby. No nothing!

Now the question we all need to ask ourselves is this: Which scenario gives Julie the peace of mind that the dishwasher was at least working when the inspector was there?

That’s an easy answer, right? - Scenario #1. Even if Julie didn’t actually see the inspector check the dishwasher, she knows that the inspector did a thorough job, because she was there for part of the inspection, and she met and talked with him personally.

In Scenario #2, Julie might think the home inspector didn’t even look at the dishwasher. How would she know for sure? Most inspection report standards don’t require the inspector to provide an opinion on systems or appliances that are working fine. And why would they? A home inspector is reporting on defects, not usually reporting on items that are working fine. If the inspector commented on every item in the home, regardless of whether it was a defect or not, the inspection report would be impossibly long and very difficult to decipher!

In conclusion, just a thought from an experienced home inspector, but I always appreciate my client wanting to attend the inspection. It’s the best case scenario for everyone involved. So, make the time to be there. It’s worth it! I look forward to seeing you there!