Pre-Purchase Home Inspections — Buy With Confidence

A pre-purchase inspection is what protects you between offer and closing. Once your offer is accepted, the contract gives you a short window — usually seven to ten days — to investigate the property and either accept it as-is, ask the seller to repair or credit, or walk away with your earnest money intact. That window exists for one reason: so you can hire someone like Kerry to look hard at the house before it becomes yours.

Most buyers have only seen the home twice before going under contract — once on a 20-minute showing and once at the offer stage. That isn't enough time to spot a furnace on its last winter, a panel that needs replacement, or grading pushing water at the foundation. Kerry spends two to four hours doing nothing but looking for those things.

What makes this an inspection for buyers (and not just any inspection) is how the report is built. Findings are organized by what matters in a negotiation: safety items, major systems near end of life, deferred maintenance, and minor items you can absorb. That structure gives you and your agent a clean punch-list to take back to the seller — without overstating cosmetic problems and without burying the real issues.