What Happens on Home Inspection Day?

Normally sellers aren’t present during the inspection.  But if you’re the buyer, you should be there if at all possible—even if it means taking a day off work.  It’s a great way to learn a lot about the home you’re about to buy.

Depending on the size of the house, most inspections take two to four hours.  These people are thorough.  They’ll carefully examine the home’s roof, exterior, interior, and all of its plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems.  Unless the home is in town and hooked up to city water and sewer, you may also want to have the well and septic inspected.

If you’re looking over the inspector’s shoulder, you’ll learn a lot from the comments they make as they’re observing, snapping photos, and taking notes.  But try to stay in listening mode rather than slowing the process down with too many questions.  You’ll get the full written report later.

And don’t panic if your inspector says “Hmmm…  This doesn’t look right.”  It may not be a big deal.  Keep your perspective.  Some issues might be large, but most will be small.  Some will be things you can take care of yourself.  Every home owner needs to do a little home maintenance now and then.  If you don’t now, you will later.

Later, once you receive the inspector’s written report, it’s even more important to keep your perspective, keep calm, and don’t panic. Call your Realtor to discuss options.