A Home Inspection is a very good idea. It is a detailed walkthrough of your prospective home, with a licensed Inspector, to review the bones of the house. How’s the roof doing? Is your electrical up to code? Is that mild sloping you thought you felt in the floor really there and something to be concerned with? How strong is that deck really? This can sound a little daunting and negative, but it is the job of the inspector to give you a worse-case scenario about what can potentially happen to this very large asset you are considering acquiring.

The inspector’s report is a document for you: for your information and confidence about buying the home. It is also often used in negotiations with the seller, based on the inspection report. And that’s it. It is not a document the lender will ask to see unless the inspection report is specifically mentioned in your purchase contract. It is also not a document that establishes the value of your home. That’s what the appraisal is for.

We absolutely encourage folks to get inspections. They can be really helpful in terms of determining if you want to buy the home, and what you’re in for if you do. But it’s not something that we, the lender, will use during the loan process.