What To Do With a Defect

So you had a home inspection. Everything seemed to go well – until the inspector went into the crawlspace. As he came out and explained the issue to you, you might have panicked a little inside. You may have wondered if this issue can be fixed, how much will it cost, or if this was the end of your deal (and by extension the end of your dream of homeownership). But rest assured, those thoughts are normal – but usually unwarranted.

All defects are fixable, it is just a matter of if it is worth it to you. The first thing you should do is discuss this issue with your real estate agent. If they are experienced, they have very likely seen this type of issue before, and may even have the name of a contractor or two.

Also, don’t assume that the seller is unwilling to fix the issue or that they were hiding something. They are likely as surprised as you are that there was an issue like that, and they usually want to fix it – because they don’t want to have to put the house back on the market, especially with a newly discovered defect.

So if there is a defect discovered on your home inspection, don’t panic. Take a deep breath, talk it over with your inspector and your agent, and see what a reasonable solution would be.