Hire your own home inspector before closing, even if the seller offers a report or a hot market tempts you to skip it. Keep the inspection contingency in your offer. Until it expires, it lets you renegotiate or walk away with your deposit if the inspector finds a problem.
Plenty of buyers give up that protection anyway. In the National Association of Realtors’ August 2026 survey of agents, 20% of buyers waived the inspection contingency.
Don’t count on the reports other people order, either. An appraisal tells your lender what the home is worth. The federal housing department’s disclosure form for FHA loans, which the government insures, says an appraisal doesn’t replace an inspection and that FHA doesn’t guarantee the home’s condition. A seller’s pre-listing report was ordered and paid for by the seller. The only inspection that works for you is one you choose and pay for. An inspection costs $344 on average, according to Angi.
Even your own inspection has limits. Under the American Society of Home Inspectors’ standard, it’s a visual, non-invasive check that doesn’t cover radon, termites, or underground pipes like the sewer line. The EPA estimates that nearly one in 15 U.S. homes has an elevated radon level and advises finding out the radon level of any house before you buy it.
Make yours count:
- Write an inspection contingency into your offer, and book the inspector the day the seller accepts.
- Choose the inspector yourself. Check your state’s license lookup if it licenses inspectors, and ask for a sample report.
- Go to the inspection, and order the add-on tests this house calls for. Angi puts a radon test at about $250 and a pest inspection at about $125.
- Get contractor quotes on major findings before the contingency deadline, then ask for repairs or a credit. To cancel, send the seller written notice before the contingency expires.
If you need to sweeten an offer, do it with a higher price or a closing date that suits the seller. Keep the inspection.
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