Is a Home Inspection Required for a Conventional Loan?
No, a home inspection is not required for a conventional loan. An appraisal usually is, and that qualifier matters more every year, because a growing share of conventional loans now close through value acceptance with no appraisal at all. Property...
What Will Fail a VA Home Inspection?
A home fails VA review when it does not meet Minimum Property Requirements, which test whether the property is safe, structurally sound, and sanitary. One clarification matters before anything else: the document that can fail a property is the VA...
Who Should Attend a Home Inspection?
The inspector is the only person who has to attend a home inspection. The buyer should attend, the buyer's agent often does, and sellers, extended family, young children, and contractors all produce a better outcome by staying away. Below we set...
When to Walk Away After a Home Inspection?
Walk away after a home inspection when three things are true at once: the repair cost is large enough to change what the house is worth to you, the seller will not absorb that cost through repairs or credits, and the condition cannot be reliably...
Does a VA Loan Require a Home Inspection?
No, a VA loan does not require a home inspection. The Department of Veterans Affairs requires a VA appraisal instead, which estimates market value and checks the property against Minimum Property Requirements. One targeted inspection is a different...
Is a Home Inspection Required for a Mortgage?
No, a home inspection is not required for a mortgage. Lenders require an appraisal instead, which estimates what the property is worth rather than documenting what condition it is in. Specialty inspections are a different matter, and a...
Should the Seller Be Present at a Home Inspection?
No, the seller should not be present at a home inspection, though nothing legally prevents it. Sellers who leave the property give the buyer room to ask honest questions, give the inspector an uninterrupted workspace, and keep emotion out of a...
How Long Does a Roof Inspection Take?
A roof inspection takes 45 minutes to 3 hours, and most single-family roofs take 1 to 2 hours from arrival to walk-through. The spread comes from five measurable variables: roof size, roof pitch, roofing material, how the inspector reaches the...
What Fixes Are Mandatory after a Home Inspection?
When a home inspection turns up problems, buyers and sellers usually want to know the same thing: what actually has to be fixed. The short answer is that no repairs are automatically mandatory after a home inspection, since they are negotiated...
Who to Call for Mold Inspection?
If you suspect mold in your home, the professional to call is an independent, certified mold inspector, not a company that also sells mold removal. An inspector's job is to find mold, identify it, and pinpoint the moisture feeding it, then...