What are the pros and cons of waiving the inspection contingency as a first-time home buyer?

One thing to remember is that you can still do inspections but you cant use these inspections as a reason to cancel the contract and back out of the purchase. But one of the benefits, in addition to the above, is that you can get a better picture of what you're buying with inspections.

Have you ever heard of "Russian Roulette"? It's where you put one bullet in a revolver (gun) aim at your head and pull the trigger. You "hope" that nothing is wrong. That is precisely what the idea is like when you waive an inspection as mentioned above. Now there is a way to strategically meet the "waive inspection" sexiness but still protect yourself- You can write an offer to "wave inspection items under $X,000 amount. ALWAYS get the inspection and just tell them you will overlook anything under $500 or whatever you feel comfortable with. ALWAYS GET THE INSPECTION I have closed over 1500 transactions over 18 years and can't say that enough- I have story after story from those that didn't.

There are no pros to waiving an inspection as a first-time Buyer. Having a winning bid with a waived inspection isn't winning.

The only places I would waive an inspection would be in a NYC coop since it is ownership in a corporation and not real property, otherwise anyone who buys a piece of property without having it inspected is asking for trouble.

I am not aware of home inspection reports taking days or weeks. That is ridiculous as a reason. Reports are almost always same day or next day! $400-600 for an inspection on a home costing hundreds of thousands of dollars is fairly inconsequential. In super strong markets, it can be that the buyer taking the risk of no inspection will be more likely to have their offer accepted, if other facts are similar with other buyers.

Often, buyers feel like they are between a rock and a hard place trying to make the most compelling offer possible in a multiple-offer situation. I have had clients waive inspection on many occasions, but I always advise against it, and I put it in writing. You can't judge a book by its cover. Even the loveliest houses have hidden defects.

There may be times that an appraiser requires an inspection based upon something that was uncovered in the appraisal. If the independent inspection confirms a repair is required, most lenders are going to require the repair be performed prior to closing. If the buyer has waived their rights, the buyer doesn’t have authority to ask for seller to make repair. They can ask, but seller is under no obligation to make the repair. Buyer may elect to repair a home that they do not own, which sometimes they do if it’s a low cost repair. But what if the repair is thousands of dollars and the buyer has low down-payment? Are they willing to risk repairing a home they don’t own on the off chance it doesn’t end up closing for some other reason?

I had a client selling in North Portland- 4 years prior her Agent told her she needed to waive inspection in order to get the home. She was a move up buyer- found a new construction home and had $5,000 earnest money down. She paid an additional $7500 for non-refundable flooring upgrade. She waited about 60 days before her home was done to list. There was multiple offers and she took the most solid one- over asking. They did inspection- questioned about proof of a oil tank decommissioned. She had no idea- fast forward and there was no decommissioning and actually, it was leaking. She lost her new home- the deposit and paid $18,000 for decommissioning and soil remediation and had a mud pit in the front yard. ALWAYS GET INSPECTION

Being a former real estate agent of 30 years, I strongly recommend getting a property inspection by a Creia, etc state licensed inspector. Just chalk it up to the cost of buying a property. It is in your Best interests to do this before the sale.

Walk the tightrope blind? It's never worth it. At minimum- offer to waive anything under $5,000 (That leaves an out for roof, foundation, mold issues, underground contaminated oil sitrs etc. .

Recent inspection called out the roof- we had a 15 day close and this was day 5. Sellers were willing to cover and we got quotes for $29,000 on a 2300 sq. ft home they agreed to pay it out of proceeds. It was a VA loan and appraisal came in $15K short. We found another roofer to do for $21,500- that gave $7500 more to sellers and that was half the short of value. We had qoute last Thursday and they tore off- replaced roof and that was completed Friday. Win/Win ALWAYS GET INSPECTION

You can never be prepared enough- I was the preferred lender for Lennar and those were brand new homes and many actually by-passed the inspection thinking they were new and passed county inspections- WRONG! Many things found wrong- one was mold in the attic space from installing wet plywood, another was sewer scope failed as it shifted when they poured concrete and would have been seeping into ground and eventually backed up in house, another was a pin hole in a line under house that would have created mold etc.

In my experience , I would never tell my buyers to skip their inspections because there maybe a problem with, roof, termites or other unforeseen problem that can be very costly for first time buyers. The buyers with inspections can review these major problems and ask for sellers credit or completely just skip that home. It’s always better to spend a little money to get your inspection completed and that way you make an educated choice on one of your life greatest financial investments.

Pro- wWhen waiving the home inspection the Seller will consider your contract stronger than competing contracts. Con- The Purchaser opens themselves up to the exposure to known an unknown defects. These defects can be very expensive to remediate. Examples the property might have structural concerns or radon gas. If the property is located in a rural setting, well and septic systems that are not functioning properly.