What is the Purpose of a Home Inspection?
Home Purchase contracts in New Jersey have a standard clause that gives the buyer the right to conduct a home inspection within a certain number of days after an offer to purchase a house has been accepted, typically 10 – 14. Consequently, home inspections have become just another thing (i.e. attorney review, mortgage application, appraisal, title search, etc.) that should be done after having an offer on a house accepted. Unfortunately, most home buyers are not aware of why they should have a home inspection.
Buyers can tend toward two extremes in their understanding of the purpose of the home inspection. Some believe the home inspection to be ‘a look around by someone who knows something about houses to make sure it isn’t going to fall down tomorrow.’ While others feel that it should be‘a lifetime warranty on everything in the house at full replacement cost with no deductible.’ Depending on their viewpoint, the buyer is either severely short-changing his or herself or expecting something that cannot be reasonably provided.
The home buyer’s goal should be to reduce the risks associated with the purchase of a new or resale home. The key word is reduce. A home inspection cannot eliminate all risk. There are many types of risk you will assume when purchasing a home. Probably the biggest is financial, but there are others, environmental, safety, comfort, and so on.
The home inspection primarily deals with financial risk. It does not address the market value of the home you are purchasing, but it can identify major repairs that may be required. It can also identify some potential safety risks in the home, but a home inspection is not and should not be considered a safety inspection. Environmental risks, such as radon, lead, asbestos can be addressed by specialized tests that need to be ordered separately. Both safety and environmental risks are tied to financial risk when remediation and health costs are considered
In essence, a home inspection will make you a better informed home buyer.
For additional information about the inspection process, please speak with Jane Johanson directly at 908.337.0480.
Jane Johanson, GRI, ABR - Sales Associate
488 Springfield Avenue • Summit, NJ07901
Office: 908-273-2991 ext. 239 • Fax: 908-273-2996
Mobile: 908-337-0480 • Email:
Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated