Your home inspector provides key information about the condition of a home’s components and necessary repairs. But it’s only part of what you need to consider. To get a handle on the actual, total cost of the house, you have to do some additional research and get prices. Here’s a list to consider: 

1) How much do the repairs cost? While some home inspectors (like us) give you ballpark pricing on repairs that are readily quantifiable, some repair or replacement items require further evaluation and a firm bid from a contractor. This is especially important for big-ticket replacements such as a new roof or water supply piping. You should get these prices before the end of your inspection period. 

2) What improvements do you need to make to bring everything up to your standards? Does the house need new carpet? Interior paint? Granite countertops or a bathroom redo? Update the landscaping? A few upgrades quickly add up to $10,000 to $20,000 or more, and are not in the home inspector’s report.

3) How does the total cost of the house, repairs, and necessary improvements compare to other available houses? When you add up all the costs to make a fixer-upper into a home you really want to live in, sometimes the move-in ready house down the street turns out to be a better deal.

   So the home inspection is just a starting point in the number-crunching necessary to verify that you’ve found a winner. Also, see our blog post The seller gave me a report from a previous home inspection. Should I use it or get my own inspector?

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  To learn more strategies for getting the best possible home inspection, here’s a few of our other blog posts:

• How can I make sure I don't get screwed on my home inspection? 

• Should I trust the Seller's Property Disclosure Statement?

• Can I do my own home inspection?

• How can homebuyers protect themselves against buying a house over a sinkhole? 

• What makes a house fail the home inspection? 

    To read about issues related to homes of particular type or one built in a specific decade, visit one of these blog posts:

• What are the common problems to look for when buying a 1950s house?

• What are the common problems to look for when buying a 1960s house?

• What are the common problems to look for when buying a 1970s house?

• What are the common problems to look for when buying a 1980s house?

• What are the common problems to look for when buying a 1990s house?

• What problems should I look for when buying a country house or rural property? 

• What problems should I look for when buying a house that has been moved?

• What problems should I look for when buying a house that has been vacant or abandoned?

• What are the most common problems with older mobile homes?

     Visit our HOME INSPECTION page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.