We’ve talked about both of these subjects in the past, so we won’t beat them to death here, but will point you to the past posts. They are still relevant and will give you more information about a home warranty vs a home inspection.
Home Warranty vs Home Inspection – What’s the Difference?
A home warranty is an insurance policy (of sorts) on your home for a certain period of time, usually one year. You may get a home warranty as part of your negotiation process with your initial contract, or after you have had a home inspection completed. A home warranty covers most major systems in the home for repair or “replacement.” (Each warranty company is different, but most will work very hard to REPAIR an item before they will replace it.) Even still, the cost of the repair will be much less via the service call fee on a home warranty vs. calling a specific trade person (plumber, electrician, appliance repair, etc.)
We did a detailed post about What is A Home Warranty, and you can get more information there.
A home inspection is much like a snapshot look at a home at a certain time. When you make an offer on a home or condominium, and it’s accepted, you have negotiated a Due Diligence period. It is during this time you have the property inspected. The purpose of this 3rd party inspection (done by a home inspection company, not your Brother or Father!) is to get an opinion of the condition of the home. An inspection will look at systems (HVAC, plumbing, electrical) as well as things like flooring (say cracked tiles or damaged wood flooring) windows (have they been painted shut, do they work) and other aspects of the home. This helps you determine the condition of the home in more detail than when you just walked through it with your real estate agent.
Once this inspection is completed, you will review it with your agent and determine what actions you want to take next. This can vary from asking for no repairs, to an extensive list of repairs, to deciding you may not want to purchase the home at all. You can learn more about the home inspection process from one of our Team Members, National Property Inspections.
We did a post, Do I Need a Home Inspection on a Midtown Atlanta Condo, which talks about the importance of getting an inspection done on a condominium. They will just vary as the inspector is not checking for structural or roofing items…those are related to the building. But you will find an informative short video on that post about the home inspection.
Home Warranty vs Home Inspection – What’s the Difference?
If you have further questions about the home warranty or inspection, we are always ready to help our Buyers or Sellers with this part of the home buying and selling process!
