Is Getting a Home Inspection Worth It?
Never, ever, ever skip a home inspection
Home Value Rating: 5/5
Home inspections are important—hiring a pro is worth every penny here.
A home inspection can save you from overpaying for a home or dealing with unexpected repairs shortly after closing.
Buyers and sellers can both benefit from having a home inspection done before the sale of a property. Inspections aren’t technically required, so it might be tempting to forgo them and just move forward with the sale. However, it’s always worth it, particularly for buyers, to have a professional home inspection completed before closing. In this guide, we’ll explain why a home inspection is worth it, how much it costs, and the value it can add.
Factors That Influence Home Inspection Value
Home inspections may end up not changing much about a real estate transaction, as there are a few factors that affect how valuable they really are.
Home Inspection Results
The results of the inspection will play the most significant role in the value you get out of it, whether you’re a buyer or a seller.
As a buyer, a home inspection will highlight any issues with a property that may demand repairs shortly after closing, including problems with the home’s structural integrity, plumbing system, electrical system, HVAC system, and even appliances. An inspection report that confirms the home has no glaring problems should set your mind at ease that you’re not going to be on the hook for major repairs soon after closing. An inspection that identifies problems will give you leverage to negotiate the sales price and potentially pay less for the property.
As a seller, providing buyers with a clean home inspection report before they even put in an offer can push them toward buying your home instead of another property. Buyers can and should still order their own inspection, but you can get a leg up on the competition by making your home more enticing from the start or by offering to pay for the home inspection for your buyer. If your inspection identifies problems, you can potentially pay less to repair them before moving forward with the sale than you would offer as a credit to a buyer to cover the cost post-closing.
Home Age
The age of your home will usually play a role in the value a home inspection adds, too. Most buyers look at new construction and assume a brand-new home will be issue-free. While that’s not always the case, a clean inspection report on new construction can seem less valuable because of that perception. For older homes, a clean inspection report can mean more to a buyer who might initially assume there could be issues with structural integrity or aging systems and appliances.
Type of Home Inspection
Most buyers will conduct a general home inspection before moving forward with a real estate purchase, but there are many types of home inspections, each of which can confirm a property is free of specific issues and add perceived value.
The table below includes average prices for different types of home inspections. Note that these may not all provide the same peace of mind to a buyer or perceived value to a home, as it also depends on the home’s age, how competitive the local market is, and other factors.
| Inspection Type | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Asbestos | $230–$780 |
| Electrical | $100–$400 |
| Foundation | $300–$3,000 |
| Home inspection | $300–$420 |
| HVAC | $70–$500 |
| Lead paint | $350–$700 |
| Mold | $300–$1,050 |
| Pest | $130–$450 |
| Plumbing | $100–$500 |
| Pool | $125–$250 |
| Radon | $150–$710 |
| Roof | $125–$360 |
DIY vs. Hiring a Pro
Since professional home inspections aren’t required by law or by lenders, in most cases, it might be tempting to save some money by doing your own inspection. While it can be helpful to find preliminary issues as a seller using your own home inspection checklist, you should never rely on a DIY inspection as a buyer.
If you’re selling a home, it’s not a bad idea to do your own home inspection first to check your attic, basement, and other less trafficked areas in your home for problems. You can use the information you find to carry out minor repairs for obvious problems, but it’s still valuable to hire a certified inspector to get a professional’s opinion as to where you can add value to your home before listing.
As a buyer, you can also conduct a DIY inspection, but it’s easy to miss even major issues, like structural damage and problems with home systems behind walls, so you should always have a local home inspector conduct a professional inspection before closing.
"Homebuyers should order an inspection as soon as they are under contract to purchase the home. It is also good practice for sellers to complete a home inspection prior to listing their home in order to avoid any surprise repairs that may come up later."
— Robert Washington, Founder at Savvy Buyers Realty
How to Estimate the Added Value of a Home Inspection
The value a home inspection adds when you’re selling a home is subjective. The actual value is based on buyers’ opinions of your home, so how much a home inspection adds to the perceived value depends on too many variables to estimate.
As a buyer, though, it’s a little easier to estimate the added value, depending on the inspection results and the estimated cost of repairs after the home inspection. If a home inspection identifies problems with the property, you can often use them to negotiate the sales price down, ultimately paying less for the property. How much room you have to negotiate will depend on the specific issue and the cost to repair it.
The table below includes some average repair costs for different problems an inspection might uncover.
| Repair Type | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Appliance | $180–$2,000 |
| Asbestos removal | $1,190–$3,260 |
| Electrical | $400–$2,500 |
| Door replacement | $500–$2,000 |
| Foundation | $2,200–$8,100 |
| HVAC | $130–$2,000 |
| Mold removal | $1,200–$3,750 |
| Plumbing | $175–$2,000 |
| Roof repair | $400–$2,000 |
| Roof replacement | $5,800–$13,200 |
| Window repair | $180–$640 |
| Window replacement | $3,400–$11,800 |
Cost of a Home Inspection
A home inspection costs around $340, on average, and prices can range from $190 up to around $510, depending on the size of your home and the home inspector you hire. You might also want to budget for other, more specific inspections, which your home inspection might determine you need. Additional inspections, like mold inspections, roof inspections, and plumbing inspections, cost around $350 each but can range from $100 up to $3,000.
Is a Home Inspection Worth It?
If you’re selling a property, a home inspection can help make your home more appealing to buyers, which could lead to a faster sale, especially in a highly competitive market.
If you’re buying a property, a home inspection is always worth it. The repair costs you might be on the hook for post-closing can reach tens of thousands of dollars, and a home inspection could uncover those problems before you close. If your home inspection report is clean, you’ll get peace of mind that you won’t have to pay for and coordinate repairs after closing. If it uncovers problems, the potential negotiating power you’ll get from identified issues will very often be higher than the cost of a home inspection.
How Angi Gets Its ROI Data
Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners maximize the value of their investments, we gather ROI data from reputable sources, including industry reports, real estate studies, and interviews with market experts. We calculate the average resale value for projects by multiplying the ROI against the project’s average cost according to our cost data, which is sourced from thousands of real Angi customers.
Want to help us improve our data? Send us a recent project quote or home appraisal value to costquotes@angi.com. Quotes and personal information will not be shared publicly.
Frequently Asked Questions
In most cases, the most severe issue a home inspection report could identify is a structural problem, specifically related to the foundation. Foundation repairs are often the most expensive and intrusive repairs to carry out, averaging around $5,000 but sometimes reaching up to $16,000. You should ask questions during your home inspection about all of the issues your home inspector identifies, but you’ll likely need to think most about foundation problems and how they affect what you’re willing to pay for the home—that’s if you’re willing to move forward with the sale at all.
Waiving a home inspection could be beneficial if you’re buying a home in a hot location where the seller has many other offers to consider, especially if other buyers are willing to waive the inspection. However, it’s not usually a good idea to waive an inspection, even on new construction. Inspections can identify problems that could cost thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars, so a formal inspection is always worthwhile. If you’re having a new home built, a pre-drywall inspection is often the most valuable, but a final inspection before you close is also a good idea.
Whether or not you use your home inspection results to negotiate with a seller depends on how badly you want the property, what you’re willing to pay for repairs post-closing, and how strong the market is in your area. If a seller has other offers to consider, they may walk away from yours if you try to renegotiate based on your inspection results. Speak with your agent, who should attend the home inspection, about the best course of action, and consider how badly you want or need the property.
