When you look to buy a new home or condo in Florida, you may have a home inspection performed along the way to get a better sense of the property’s true condition. While some people forgo home inspections because they believe it might make their offers more appealing to home sellers, doing so is generally not advisable. While a home inspection gives you significant information about the true state of a home, it may also give you negotiating power.
Per Realtor.com, how much negotiating power a home inspection report gives you depends to some degree on the state of the real estate market in your area.
When you face a strong buyer’s market
In a strong buyer’s market, a home inspection report may give you more negotiating power than it would had you been looking to buy in a strong seller’s market. A strong buyer’s market means there are many other properties available, so a seller might have more of an inclination to work with you and fix the things you request in order to get you to buy the home.
When you face a strong seller’s market
Homebuyers are more prone to skipping home inspections when there is a strong seller’s market. In this scenario, a seller might be remiss to make changes to a home following a home inspection report because the odds of another potential buyer coming along in the near future are high.
Even if market conditions suggest that a home inspection might not give you significant negotiating power, it is still smart to have one performed on any property you consider buying. Otherwise, you run the risk of buying a property with serious defects, which could cost you quite a bit of money in the long run.
