by threecheese on 12/5/24, 10:25 PM
One thing I’d heard before buying my first home was to use your own people, not those recommended by your realtor. Oh boy was that good advice that I didn’t follow. The incentives in home buying are wacky, given the realtor wants your future business but also wants to get you into a property quickly so they can get to the next contract. Knowing those incentives, using their network for finance and inspection and their judgement alone for home selection can be a risk.
The home inspection is really important, and (in my state) their contracts limit liability to their fee amount. Having an inspector miss something important can cost you tens of thousands. Related, each state may have their own defect disclosure laws also limiting the sellers liability; combined with a faulty inspection, this can extra-screw you.
Also note that nobody besides the inspector is incentivized to stop you from buying a home, their scope is limited to major defects. No one will tell you that the neighbors are shitty, play loud music all night or have barking dogs all day, or that the 15 year old windows will allow you to hear those noises at all times and half of them dont even open. Research the neighborhood, and go there physically. Is there a rental with ten cars and 20 trash cans next door? Vermin. Does your neighbor have a rooster? Alarm clock. Read the municipality regulations to see if there’s anything offensive to you (like a rooster lol). Find out the types of homeowners on your street, so if you are raising kids you’ll know if they’ll have playmates, or if your an old fart you won’t have to listen to bouncing basketballs.
Have fun!