We have a VA Inspection do we still need a Home Inspection?

With our VA loan we will get a VA inspection, do we still need a Home Inspection?

I hear this question often from VA Buyers, so let me address this here. A VA inspection will never replace a Home Inspection. The VA inspection or VA appraisal will last for possibly 10 to 15 minutes while a Home Inspection normally last anywhere from two hours and much more. The VA inspection is an appraisal. Although VA appraisals are a little more stricter then appraisals for conventional loans. An appraiser will never do an as detailed inspection as a home inspector.

A home inspector will inspect the entire house, starting from the outside, to every room in the inside. Many of the home inspections I have attended will last anywhere from 2 hours to up to 5 to 6 hours, depending on the size of the home. The home inspector will encourage the buyer to asking questions, so that the buyer will become familiar with their future house and also to making sure they understand what they are getting into. The Home Inspector will explain every finding to the home buyers during the home inspection and will also compile a detailed report for the home buyer which includes pictures and mentions what was identified during the home inspection.

Also a home inspection is important if you made the purchase contract contingent upon a home inspection. Any findings from the home inspector can be addressed with the seller. In today’s market short sales, foreclosures and even some regular sales are being sold AS-IS, which means, you get what you see.

The seller has no obligation to address any of the findings identified during a home inspection. However if you are making the contract contingent upon a home inspection and the home is NOT sold as is, everything identified during the home inspection becomes fair game and can be addressed with the seller.

Of course every transaction is different so be sure to discussing the Home Inspection Items with the Home Inspector but also with your Realtor.