What to Do After a Home Inspection

Read the whole report before you react to any one line

It's tempting to skim for the scariest-sounding words. Don't. Inspection reports are written to flag everything an inspector notices, including plenty of routine, low-cost items alongside the handful that actually matter. Reading it start to finish, once, before you start making calls or texting your agent, keeps a single alarming photo from setting your whole plan.

Sort issues into buckets, not one long list

A flat list of 40 items feels overwhelming no matter how minor most of them are. Group them instead: what needs to be addressed before you close, what's worth a negotiation, what you can plan for after you own the place, and what's just routine upkeep any home needs.

This is exactly the sorting MoveConnected's inspection tool does automatically — upload your report and it extracts each item with a priority and a plain-language bucket, so you start from an organized plan instead of a raw PDF. See the breakdown of those four buckets if you want to do this sorting by hand first.

Get real numbers before you negotiate anything

Negotiating from a guess is a weak position. Before you draft any repair request, get a rough sense of what the top few items actually cost — see our repair cost guide for typical ranges, then request real quotes from local contractors for anything you plan to ask about.

Put your decision in writing before your option period ends

Whatever you decide — repair request, price reduction, or moving forward as-is — get it documented through your agent before your contract deadline. Verbal agreements about repairs have a way of getting fuzzy by closing day.