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I finally listened to my dad about the home inspection
When we put an offer on a house in Mesa, my dad, who's a retired mechanic, kept telling me to hire a specific inspector he knew, not just the cheapest one the agent suggested. I almost blew him off, thinking any licensed guy would do the same job for less. The guy he recommended cost $550, which felt steep. But he found major foundation cracks the other inspector missed, and the seller had to knock $15,000 off the price to fix it. My dad's guy basically paid for himself ten times over. I was so focused on saving cash upfront I almost bought a money pit. Has anyone else had a family member give them a piece of home buying advice that saved their butt?
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michael_coleman107mo ago
Yeah, that's a great point about not just going with the cheapest option. I'd just add that the price tag isn't always the best sign either, you know? My cousin paid nearly $700 for a super fancy inspector who gave her a huge report but missed a simple, obvious plumbing issue. Sometimes it's more about finding someone really thorough, not just the most expensive guy your agent doesn't know.
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rileym947mo ago
Your cousin's story is a good example of why price alone doesn't work... but a really low price is still a huge red flag. A thorough inspection just takes time, and time costs money. That fancy inspector was probably just bad at his job, not a sign that all higher-priced options are a scam. You're right that being thorough is the key, but finding that often means paying a fair rate, not the bottom rate.
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the_max7mo ago
Had a buddy skip the sewer scope because his agent said it was a waste of money. The line collapsed six months after he moved in, cost him almost eight grand to dig up the yard and replace it.
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