Why Get A Home Inspection If I Get A Bank Appraisal And Seller Disclosure?

If a buyer is using a bank loan to purchase a home, the lender will do an appraisal to protect themselves.  The appraiser will ensure the home is safe for a family to live in.  They will look for big items like functioning plumbing, electricity, furnace, and kitchen appliances.  The appraiser will also give an opinion of value.  The lender wants to make sure there is adequate value to justify the size of the loan they are issuing.  A lot of lenders got burned during the 2008-2009 recession.  When home owners stopped making payments on their home loans, lenders foreclosed and took the homes back.  But, there was inadequate value for them to recoup their losses.  The lender’s appraisal is a very basic inspection.  I had an appraisal done on a home I refinanced last month and it took 15 minutes.

When a home is sold, the seller is required to disclose known defects with the home.  Be careful over relying on this seller disclosure.  Most sellers have never climbed on their roof or stepped foot in their attic.  Sellers are actually not as knowledgeable about their homes as you would think.  As an example, I had to disclose known defects for my rental home I sold last year.  That was really difficult since I had never actually lived in the home.  And, if the property is a foreclosure or an estate sale, the seller is exempt from having to provide a disclosure form.

You definitely should get your own home inspection.  Your inspector will do a much more thorough job checking out the various components of a home.  Purchasing a home is the largest financial transaction most people will ever accomplish in their lifetime.  Any problems a home has will become yours to deal with once the deed transfers to you.