In Oakland, Berkeley, and surrounding areas it is very common in our current market for the seller to provide inspections to all prospective buyers. Sellers do this to provide transparency into the condition of the property and attract offers without an inspection contingency. And in many cases it works.
When sellers provide a complete disclosure packet, buyers are more likely to accept the condition of the house without performing their own further inspections. I see buyers waive further inspections even when the seller’s report specifically says to have a specialist look at something (a foundation, for example).
It is my advice to always order your own home inspection and pest inspection even if one was provided to you. I also recommend that you be present when the home inspection takes place. That gives you more direct insight into what the inspector thinks is a big deal versus what isn’t.
The reality of our market is, unfortunately, making it challenging to follow my advice. When a seller receives multiple offers for their property and some of those offers won’t be performing further inspections, offers that will be doing inspections are far less competitive.
