PSA: skipping the home inspection saved me $800 but cost me way more

I bought a house in Charlotte last spring and decided to skip the home inspection to beat another offer. The seller accepted my bid $800 under asking since I waived it. Turns out the AC unit was from 2003 and died three months later. Replacing that unit cost me $4,500 out of pocket. Now I tell everyone don't skip the inspection no matter how hot the market is. Has anyone else learned this lesson the hard way in Charlotte?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbaragarcia1mo ago

Gotta disagree with you here. You could have had the AC inspected before closing or even asked the seller for a service record on it. Saying you saved $800 but lost thousands doesn't mean skipping the inspection is always bad, it just means you got unlucky with a bad unit. I live in Charlotte and skipped mine too, but I made sure to check the major stuff myself with a few YouTube videos first.

the_kevin1mo ago

Heard a real estate podcast mention that some lenders even require inspections now because of horror stories like this... guess not all of them though. The AC thing is brutal, a 20 year old unit should've been a red flag to someone. YouTube only gets you so far when you're dealing with hidden stuff like old ductwork or dying compressors.