Guides

Short, specific answers to the questions people ask with an inspection report open in front of them.

• What “recommend further evaluation” actually means

  The most misread phrase in any inspection report — what your inspector means by it, and what it should cost you to resolve.

  4 min read

• How to triage an inspection report in 20 minutes

  A 60-page report is not a to-do list. Here is the order to read it in, and what actually deserves your attention first.

  5 min read

• What to ask the seller to fix — and what to ask for instead

  Repair requests fail for predictable reasons. How to structure an ask a seller will actually agree to.

  5 min read

• Who actually pays: insurance, warranty, or you

  Before paying for a repair out of pocket, check whether someone else is already on the hook for it.

  4 min read

• Why repair estimates are ranges, and how wide they should be

  Any single number attached to an inspection finding is a guess. What honest estimating looks like.

  4 min read

• Scanned or photo-only reports: what to do

  Some inspection reports arrive as images with no text layer. Why that matters and how to get a usable copy.

  3 min read

• Who pays for what when you buy a house

  Inspection, appraisal, survey, title, repairs, agent fees. Who actually pays each one, and which of those are custom rather than rule.

  6 min read

• What is negotiable after an inspection, and what is not

  Repairs, credits, price and timing are all on the table. Lender and insurer conditions are not. Knowing the line makes your ask land.

  6 min read

• Whose agent handles what, and who to call when

  Buyer's agent, listing agent, inspector, appraiser, escrow. Who owes you a duty, who does not, and who to call with which question.

  6 min read

• What an as-is sale changes, and what it does not

  As-is limits what a seller will fix. It does not remove your right to inspect, your right to walk, or their duty to disclose what they know.

  5 min read

• Getting agreed repairs actually done before closing

  The seller saying yes is the easy part. Who hires the contractor, who verifies the work, and what happens if it is not finished in time.

  6 min read