As a new homebuyer, it can be unclear if you or the seller are responsible for certain fees during the real estate transaction process. 

Common fees such as agent commission and transfer tax typically fall on the seller. But there’s often confusion on who pays a home inspection fee.

Checking a house’s condition with a home inspection seems like it could be the seller’s responsibility. After all, the seller wants to convince the buyer that their property is safe and up to standard to secure a sale. 

But the seller isn’t required to get a home inspection, and with so many fees already falling to them, they are not likely to pick up the extra cost. Even if they did have an inspector come by the house, the results might be biased in the seller’s favor. 

Though there are some subtle exceptions, the buyer is typically responsible for scheduling and paying for the home inspection during a real estate transaction.

Let’s pull out our magnifying glass to inspect what a home inspection entails, the associated costs, and why this fee traditionally falls on the buyer.

What Is a Home Inspection?

Just as a doctor evaluates your overall health in a physical exam, a general home inspector assesses a house’s overall condition and looks for issues in the following areas:

  • Exterior (including patios, foundation, and walls)
  • Interior
  • Roof
  • Plumbing 
  • Electrical system 
  • HVAC (heat, ventilation, and air conditioning) system

Your inspector may not include appliances like your fridge and washing machine in the interior portion. It’s best to find out before you hire the inspector to ensure you get what you’re paying for. 

After the home inspection, your inspector will give you a written report outlining all the areas they checked and any issues they found. If your home inspection fails, you will likely need repairs to live comfortably and safely, or you may consider a different home. 

What Are Specialized Home Inspections?

After your general home inspection, your inspector may recommend specialized inspections, which look at specific issues in the house rather than the overall well-being of your home. 

Different specialized inspections examine different safety and health concerns, including:

How Much Does a Home Inspection Cost?

The cost of a home inspection ranges from about $300 to $500 or more, depending on several factors. Estimates for the national average are around $350, and the average cost for a Florida home inspection is $325.

Specialized inspection prices vary more widely because each one is so different. For example, a wind mitigation inspection can cost $75, while the high end of a septic tank inspection is over $1,300. 

What Factors Affect Home Inspection Costs?

Even with the above price ranges and averages, several factors affect the price of a general or specialized home inspection.

Here are the variables that determine a home inspection’s cost:

  • Size of your home
  • Location of your home
  • Age of your home
  • Inspector’s experience level
  • Scope of inspection

Generally, the bigger and older your house is, the higher the home inspection cost. The price will likely also be higher with the more experience an inspector has and how many areas of your home they inspect. 

Who Pays for a Home Inspection: Buyer or Seller?

At the beginning of this article, we mentioned that the homebuyer is responsible for obtaining the home inspection but with some nuance. 

Why the Buyer Pays for a Home Inspection

In most cases, you will order and pay for the home inspection as the buyer because you are the one most interested in verifying the safety of your potential new home. The inspection cost isn’t combined with the mortgage payment or closing costs, so you’ll have to pay out of pocket before closing. 

We recommend rejecting any of the seller’s offers to order the home inspector because there is a conflict of interest, which has to do with an inspection contingency. 

The contingency is a section in your real estate contract that says the buyer has the right to have a home inspection and then back out of a deal or renegotiate the price if any unfavorable results arise. That’s what a seller is worried about. 

The seller, not required by law to order a home inspection, wants to sell you the property and avoid the deal falling through. To appeal to you and get a passing inspection, the seller might choose an inspector who isn’t very thorough or whose scope isn’t very broad. 

It’s best to invest $300 or so of your own money for the peace of mind you get with an objective inspection. 

When the Seller Pays for a Home Inspection

While the seller may not pay for the home inspection directly, negotiations on the property’s price may end in the seller “paying” the inspection cost by bringing the price down to encourage the sale if the inspection reveals issues. 

The seller does pay for a home inspection in the case of a pre-listing inspection, which the seller chooses to order before they list the property for sale. 

Pre-listing inspections help sellers discover problems before buyers find them in their own inspections, which could cause the deal to fall through. By being proactive, the seller saves the money and hardship of lowering the property’s price and making repairs. 

Who Pays for Repairs After a Home Inspection?

After a home inspection, a house may have problems that need repairs, such as a leaky pipe, cracks in the foundation, or missing roof shingles.

Whether the buyer or seller pays for repairs after a home inspection depends on the following factors:

  • Market conditions: In a buyer’s market, where more houses are available than the demand, the seller may pay for repairs to keep the buyer from looking to close elsewhere.

    In a seller’s market, where there is more demand than houses available, the buyer may agree to pay for repairs to keep the property. 
  • Seller disclosure laws: Almost every state requires sellers by law to reveal any features on a property and their condition. If a property seller knows about an issue in the house, within reason, it is their obligation to pay for the repairs. 
  • Real estate agent negotiation skills: Whether you or the seller pays for repairs after a home inspection depends on how skillful your real estate agent is. Try to hire an agent who has plenty of experience. 
  • Types of repairs: Your home inspection may reveal several problems, but the seller may agree to pay only a limited number of repairs.

    For example, you may notice several cracked tiles in the flooring and blown-out light fixtures. But between that and a broken central AC unit, you may want to ask the seller to pay for the latter while you pick up the rest. 
  • Your offer contract: As we stated earlier, an inspection contingency allows a buyer to leave a deal if the inspection results aren’t up to standard. This contingency gives you leverage when asking the seller to pay for repairs.

    If you do not have the contingency, and instead your contract states that you will take the property “as is,” the seller may not agree to pay for repairs because they don’t have the pressure of a potential lost deal. 

As you can see, there’s no single answer for whether the buyer or seller pays for repairs, and it largely depends on your leverage when negotiating. 

Do You Even Need a Home Inspection?

Home inspections aren’t required by law or for a mortgage, but several hefty benefits make them a home-buying norm. 

For one, home inspections save you frustration, danger, and money by identifying signs of issues before they develop into full-blown problems. Wouldn’t it be better to find a dripping pipe before it bursts?

A home inspection can also save you from a bad deal when paired with an inspection contingency. Seller disclosure laws protect the buyer from a purchase they may not have made with the full information. But, despite these laws, sellers may not know all of the problems present on their property. 

In that case, it’s your responsibility as the buyer to get a home inspection. You won’t want to purchase a property with any number of surprise problems—but you may have to without the contingency.

Lastly, a home inspection report serves as a list of home areas to check as a homeowner later on. After all, your roof may be up to par during your inspection, but after a few years, you’ll need to know what issues to look for. 

Home Inspections and Home Insurance

Some home insurance providers may require you to get a home inspection before agreeing to cover you so they can understand the risk they are taking on. 

At OpenHouse, we only require self-inspections, meaning you do not have to hire a home inspector to receive coverage. We will provide you with the necessary checklist to conduct the inspection properly. 

FAQs About Home Inspection Costs

Who pays for a home inspection if the deal falls through?

If the buyer orders the inspection, they still pay for it if the deal falls through—even with an inspection contingency. 

A home inspection is an optional service, so the cost still falls on the buyer who orders it even with negative results. 

Do You Pay for the Home Inspection Before or After?

You typically pay the home inspector before the home inspection. You can negotiate with the inspector to pay after the close, but they likely won’t agree in case a failing inspection report leads to the deal falling through. 

Overall, it’s easier for the inspector to charge you at the time of inspection.

Who Pays for Appraisal Fees?

On top of the inspection, the buyer typically pays for a home appraisal because their lender will ask for one. 

Buyer or Seller—It Comes Down to Your Home

Think of buying an expensive shirt you didn’t realize had a hole in it until you wore it out.

It’s not a good feeling to make a big purchase and regret it later. But while it’s easy to return a shirt, backing out of a purchase agreement on a home is a much more difficult feat. 

That’s why, no matter who’s paying for a home inspection (or the repairs), you need to make sure you get one to ensure your family’s safety and your home’s condition. 
You’ll want to hire a reputable home inspector to learn as much as possible about the property before closing. As long as you do your research and get the necessary repairs, living in your new home will be peaceful and safe.