When buying a house, who should make sure you get a Home Inspection?

The buyer is responsible. On our mortgages, the lender did require a home inspection as part of the paperwork, but we had to pay for it. If the home had failed the inspection in some major way, they probably would not have given us a loan.

I suggest you get recommendations for home inspectors from people you know. On this house, we took the recommendation of the real estate agent. What a mistake! There were plenty of things wrong with this house that the inspector did not catch. He seemed great but I had to get a separate inspector for the pool. I was not told but found out later, he did not inspect the chimney and we needed to get a different inspector for that. He did not go on the roof and check it out.

Make sure you are present for the inspection and take a camera and paper with you so you can take pictures and notes along the way.

In most states it’s negotiable. If it’s part of the contract the escrow officer won’t let it close until it’s done.

The buyer is responsible. It should always be included as a clause in your purchase contract.

I’m a broker in California

You are responsible, if for no other reason than you want to be assured that there are no underlying problems. Bottom line is that the buyer and the real estate agent, whose only goal is to sell you that pile of bricks and mortar so they can get paid, really don’t have a whole lot of motivation to tell you about any problems.

Not all states/counties require home inspections. Good lenders do as they want to make sure you are getting your (their) monies worth. @marinelife is right, make sure it is a clause in the contract that if the home fails inspection you can cancel the contract with no penalty.

@Judi would you say it is best for the buyer to pick the inspector and pay for the inspection in order to avoid any conflict of interest?

In my experience the buyer agrees to pay it and the buyers agent who knows who is good recommends (and orders) the actual inspection. The buyer always has the option of choosing their own inspector if they have a preference.

The buyer, definitely. You are going to be the one who is responsible for any repairs that come up if you don’t.