Generally speaking, the buyer purchasing the home pays for the home inspection. Neither real estate agent or seller are responsible for paying this fee.
The home buyer is the one that will usually pay for inspections since they are doing the due diligence before buying the home.
Whoever pays for the inspection owns it, and they are looking for any problems with the home before closing on it. Thus, it makes sense for buyers to want to pay for it. Here are a few things you should be looking out for on your inspection report.
When Do Buyers Pay For Inspections
Buyers pay for inspections after the inspector performs a visual inspection of the property. Typically, they are sending the invoice at the same time they are sending the buyer the inspection report.
For payment of inspections, this happens one of two times:
- Upon receipt of inspection report
- Upon closing of the property
If the buyer is paying for the inspection upfront, they are usually receiving a discount on the cost of the inspection. Or, paying the “sticker price” listed on the inspector’s website.
When a buyer is paying for the inspection at closing, the funds are coming out of the closing costs.
The cost of an inspection where payment is being pushed to closing typically increases by 10-20% over retail.
They are charging extra because of the inconvenience of floating the cost for an extra month.
Inspections are being performed within the first 5-10 days of going under contract. By waiting an extra 2-4 weeks to pay the inspector, the inspector commonly charges an extra fee.
When Do Sellers Pay For Inspections
It is uncommon for sellers to pay for inspections. Although not common, it is something that a buyer can try to negotiate for the seller to pay for. If you or your buyer client decide to ask for this, check out these other 5 tactics that will kill negotiations, too.
A seller will sometimes pay for inspections when they are wanting to find any possible issues before listing their home.
How Much Do Inspections Cost?
The cost of an inspection will vary depending on the market. Checking with experts in your area is important to get precise numbers, but $300-400 is a common price range for inspections.
Paying late (or at closing) will cost more, and so will larger than average homes.
