BiggerPockets

I have used it as a bargaining tool in the past. Found lots of issues with a property, documented it (home inspector report) and submitted it to seller with my new offer. Not sure of cons, I am fairly new to the real estate game.

It can be a bargaining tool if you, as the buyer, order a home inspection and they find issues. You can ask the seller to lower the price based on the issues reported by the inspector.

When I sell houses, I would never consider doing repairs unless I were to see the actual inspection report.

If the buyers don't ask for repairs, I have no need to see the report.

Really that simple.

Originally posted by J Scott:
When I sell houses, I would never consider doing repairs unless I were to see the actual inspection report.

If the buyers don't ask for repairs, I have no need to see the report.

Really that simple.

This really sums it all up, no need to go beyond what J stated here.
On the buy side, you need to show it if you expect a discount or seller repairs.

I think that the report is the most important aspect for evaluating the nature of the purchase, residential or commercial. If you are the seller you can do the repairs and this way protect your asking price from vultures, by saying this is what was wrong this is how it was fixed, or even giving credits for repairs to be done against asking price.
Make certain whoever is doing the report knows who is paying and as suggested previously herein, there are ways to frame the wording of certain elements of the report to put the property in best or worst light, depending upon the position taken in the sale.
If you are a buyer and do not ask for a report to be done, saving money this way is not advised. The buyer needs to know what's up with the property, and the seller needs the report, for the sake of making legal and material disclosures under the contract about the property so there is no backlash when defects such as mold are discovered and undisclosed, which is ground zero for litigation.

I think that the report is the most important aspect for evaluating the nature of the purchase, residential or commercial.

I have to be honest. As a buyer who has a pretty good idea of what's going on in a house, I find inspection reports useless. 90% of what the inspector puts in that report is intuitively obvious. I'd had inspections with pictures of hands stuck through missing screens. Really, I can't see that? Once in a while, they have pointed out something I might have missed. But I've also had them miss significant issues.

Now, if you're a buyer who doesn't know much about construction, or just wants another pair of eyes, sure, go ahead. But you can't bank on the inspectors report actually telling you everything that's wrong. If you read them, they always include a disclaimer that takes away any liability on their part for anything they miss.

Also, specific types of inspections are different. I did no inspection on the last house I bought. But I was skeptical about the state of the furnace. So, I had a furnace guy come give me an evaluation of the furnace. I'm actually almost certain I was able to get that house because of an inspection by a previous buyer. One of the hose bibs was cracked outside the valve. Here in CO, these are always long, and the actual valve seat is deep inside the house. This one had been left over the winter with a hose full of water. The valve was cracked after the seat but before the outlet. So, turn on the valve and water starts gushing into the wall. I'm sure that scared off the previous buyer, when is was, in reality, a simple repair.

And commercial is an entirely different matter.

As a seller, I have no problem giving concessions for requested repairs, if they make sense. If the seller says "I want these three fixes", and I know those are reasonable and that closes the deal, I'll do them. Buyers ALWAYS want something in this regard, so its just part of the deal.