Competitive Bids and Home Inspections
Eliminate the Home Inspection
In December 2021 we had a client inquiry about doing a home inspection on Sunday Boxing Day. Obviously we were not able to accomodate this rather desperate request. Instead, we suggested the day after, Monday.
After we provided our fee proposal for a $1000 inspection of a house and detached shop, the client decided to forego the inspection. The reason? This was going to be a competitive bid and they did not want to spend that much money for a property where there was no assurance that they would be the successful bid.
Enter the Systems Inspection
After being informed by the agent that the client had declined the home inspection, we suggested that possibly a systems inspection would be more appropriate rather than a home inspection. Unfortunately, the agent was rushed to put together the contract over the holidays, that our suggestion was likely not understood. Hence the purpose of this post, to discuss how to accomodate an inspection where there is competitive bidding.
Our recommendation is to select the most worrying house systems for an inspection. The systems menu includes: Roof, Exterior, Structure, Electrical, Heating and Air Conditioning, Plumbing, Insulation and Interior. For example, a client may be concerned about water ingress, so Roof, Exterior and Interior may be the 3 systems needing an inspection. Or, there may be a shop that was suspected of being a grow-op… in this case the condition of Electrical, Plumbing and Interior may be most relevant to the buyer.
Cost of Systems Inspection
We often do systems inspections for clients. Usually they are for only one system, such as the Roof or Structure. Our fee in these cases is based on an hourly rate.
With this alternative, the buyer has the option to improve their understanding of the property’s condition, within a limited inspection budget.
Home Inspection Vs Systems Inspection
We will always recommend the home inspection over a systems inspection for any property purchase. But in cases where the clients know what what they need or there are special circumstances (competitive bids), then the Systems Inspection may be the appropriate choice.