Home inspection before vs. after rehab

[Ishviyan D.]

When purchasing a deal, does it make more sense to do a home inspection prior to or after the home has been rehabbed (I’m referring to an inspection done by an actual home inspector, not one done by a general contractor). I could see an argument for both. If an inspection is done before, the rehab can address all the issues found, particularly the more serious items like foundations, mould and termites. If done after the rehab, it provides an opportunity to address residual issues prior to putting the property on the market, although the downside is that it could mean tearing out newly installed flooring, cabinets, and appliances to address serious problems like mould underneath the subfloor that we’re not initially identified.

Any thoughts?

Thank you

[Mike McCarthy]

I’m assuming you’re flipping. You definitely want the inspection prior to purchasing so you know your Reno costs more accurately. You don’t want to be surprised by needing to shore up a foundation for $xx,xxx from your contractor once he starts work.

There’s no real good reason for a pre-listing inspection unless you really don’t know the state of the house and you want to fix most everything and sell it as truly move-in ready. I’m not really sure it’s worth it in that case anyway.