Stop waiving the inspection just to win the offer, take it from me

I kept losing bidding wars in Austin back in March, so my realtor suggested waiving the home inspection to look stronger. We finally got an offer accepted on a cute 1960s house, and I figured I'd just hire my uncle who 'knows houses' to walk through it after closing. Big mistake, the roof needed 9 grand of work and the electrical panel was a fire hazard that another $4,200 fixed. I mean, I understand the market is brutal, but skipping a real inspection just to get the keys is how you end up with surprise bills before you even paint a wall. Now I tell every first timer I meet to factor inspection costs into their offer instead of cutting that corner. Has anyone else here lost a house over asking for an inspection, and do you regret it?

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the_elizabeth9d ago

Take a breath, that's like 13 grand on an old house which honestly is pretty normal for a 1960s build. I get the inspection helps, but every house from that era is gonna have some kind of scary panel or tired roof, that's just the cost of buying old. You could have gotten the exact same surprise bills even with a licensed inspector, they don't catch everything either, trust me I've seen them miss way worse. Maybe the real lesson is just budget 10k for repairs on any vintage house instead of acting like waiving the inspection was the actual mistake.