Who Pays for an Inspection When Buying a Home?

In a vast majority of cases, the home-buyer or home-seller is the person that is paying for the home inspection in San Antonio, TX. One reason is simple: a home inspection is a consultation service looking to represent the purchasing or selling individuals. This is a technically unecessary part of a transaction that is intended to be for the buyers benefit, unlike what are effectively required closing costs like title insurance and an appraisal if using a loan. Because of this, the burden of paying for the home inspection rests with the homebuyer except in rare cases.

As a home inspector in San Antonio, I sometimes encounter a real esate agent that will pay for the inspection for their client as a gesture of goodwill or if the homebuyer is cash strapped. I generally advise against this but some realtors make it a part of their normal homebuying routine. Sellers will also sometimes pay for a home inspection of their own, a pre-listing inspection, used to inform potential buyers about the condition of the property ahead of time. Even if the seller has purchased a pre-listing inspection and shows you the report, understand that you need to get your own inspection report from you rown inspector. The seller’s inspector has no duty to talk to you or provide any information for you, and owes you no liability or due care.

Another not-so-obvious reason that the home-buyer is the person who usually pays for the inspection is because when you’re making a purchase on a property worth $100,000s or more, you really wan to make sure that the home inspector is working for you and absolutely no other party. For this reason, we always suggest that home-buyers find their own home inspector for their home inspection, to prevent any collusion or conflicts of interest between the real estate agents and the home inspectors.

By getting your own inspector, you know that the professional you hire is loyal to you and your interests.