While touring a foreclosed home with my clients, who were ready for me to prepare an offer right then, I noticed a crack between the fireplace and the wall, while they were upstairs taking their third look, I went back outside to see if anything looked strange on the exterior of the fireplace and chimney. They had said they did not need a home inspection company to check the house because the husband had once built homes yet they had not noticed the crack inside or the gap between the house and chimney that none of us had noticed while looking at the exterior of the house.
My clients still did not want to pay for an inspection company since they did not know if the foreclosure purchase would go through so I provided them with the names of reputable local building contractors who would come take a look and provide a free estimate of repair costs. Turns out there was a structural problem that made a huge difference in the amount of our offer to purchase.
That house just happened to be a foreclosure but it could have happened to any home for sale so remember to have a good Agent and make your offer contingent upon a home inspection.
