What happens after a home inspection for the buyer

What's the next step after a home inspection?

After a home inspection, you get the written report, and the clock on your inspection window keeps running. Read it the day it arrives, send any safety finding to a licensed specialist, price the rest, and send the seller one written request before the deadline. After that, the appraisal, underwriting and closing run on their own schedules.

Your contract sets the deadline and what happens if you miss it. Confirm the date with your agent or attorney, or check it with the inspection deadline calculator.

Key takeaways

• Don't expect prices in the report. The dollar figures in your request are yours to find.
• Agreed repairs usually don't have to be done until at or near closing. You check them at the final walkthrough, one to two days before you sign.
• Keep your credit and your job steady until you have the keys. Your lender will likely re-check both right before closing.

When do you get the inspection report?

You usually get the written report the day after the inspection, according to HomeLight. Chase says it can take several days. Ask your inspector which day to expect it, and count those days against your deadline.

The report covers only what the inspector could see. Inspectors can't see through walls or comment on places they couldn't reach. Don't expect prices either. The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) says "a home inspector is not allowed to give pricing on recommended repairs," so the dollar figures in your request are yours to find.

Which findings come first?

Safety findings come first, before any money talk. Anything that points to gas, carbon monoxide, an electrical hazard, an active leak or the structure goes to a licensed specialist before your deadline. If you smell gas, leave the house, then call the gas utility or 911, then a licensed professional.

ASHI says the report separates repairs to do in the very short term from ones to plan over the years you own the home. Use the same split. A roof that is old but not leaking is serviceable; a leaking roof is a failure. A dirty furnace filter may need a cleaning, but a cracked heat exchanger is a big safety issue.

If a specialist's finding makes you doubt the house itself, when to walk away after a home inspection covers how to size it.

How do you turn the report into a request?

Keep the request short, not a copy of every item. ASHI's bar is a home that is reasonably safe and healthy, with systems working and some life left in them. No home will be perfect, and anything you knew about before your offer stays off the list. What to ask for after a home inspection walks through which items make the list.

Then pick the form of the ask. ASHI lays out the trade-offs:

• Repair: the seller does the work before closing. It costs you no extra money, but you lose control over who does it and how.
• Credit: the seller pays some or all of your closing costs, which leaves your own cash free for repairs.
• Price reduction: you pay less for the house, but you fund the repair yourself.

Be specific. ASHI calls "fix roof prior to closing" a poor request because it is vague. Name the problem, point to the page of the report, and put a dollar figure on it. Repairs vs. credit vs. price reduction covers which form to pick, and the repair request letter template gives you the wording.

What if the seller says no?

If the seller says no, you have three moves while your window is open:

• Narrow the list to the safety items and the systems that have failed, and ask again.
• Switch the form of the ask, say from repairs to a credit.
• Cancel, if your contract still allows it.

Whatever you choose, get it in writing before the deadline. Don't let the date pass in silence: your contract decides what no answer means.

What happens after the inspection period ends?

If you're still in the deal, put what the seller agreed to in a repair addendum. An agent quoted by HomeLight says repairs usually don't have to be finished until at or near closing. Then the loan side takes over.

• Appraisal. Opendoor plans on 1 to 2 weeks from order to written report, plus another 1 to 2 weeks on a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or Veterans Affairs (VA) loan.
• Closing. Chase gives about two to four weeks from appraisal to closing, and 43 days on average from accepted offer to keys. Until then, don't open new credit, make large purchases or change jobs. Chase says your lender will likely re-check your credit and job right before closing.
• Final walkthrough. One to two days before closing, you confirm the agreed repairs were done. Re-inspection after seller repairs covers checking the work before that day.

How do I know what my repair list is worth?

Each line needs a price. For the big items, get written bids from licensed trades. Kept prices every line of your inspection report for $79, usually under 4 hours (how Kept prices a line).

If your report just landed and the window is running, upload it to Kept and send your request with a number behind each item.

Sources

• American Society of Home Inspectors, "Tips on Negotiating Repairs After a Home Inspection"
• Chase, "How Long Does It Take to Close on a House?"
• HomeLight, "How Long Does Closing Take on a House?"
• Opendoor, "How long does a home appraisal take?"