Clients I'm working with who are trying to buy a home settled on the one they want this week. It's a foreclosure and, as with most foreclosure properties, it's sold as is. That means we can't make the offer contingent on a home inspection or a radon inspection.

Normally, what I advise clients to do in this situation is to have a home inspection done before writing an offer. But in this case the bank already had several offers and gave us a deadline if we wanted to submit an offer. We had less than 20 hours to do so.

It's impossible to get a radon inspection in that time. And, it's practically impossible to get a home inspection done that quickly. In the end, my clients decided to pass on writing an offer on this home.

Here's my dilemna. I advised them that it's certainly not prudent to buy a home without an inspection. And, that's true. But the deeper truth is that I'd have put an offer on this home without a home inspection. It's a pretty new home, built in 2005. I see nothing that worries me, nothing to suggest water or pest issues, my two biggest worries. I am, by nature, less risk averse than your average individual.  And, so, I'd have jumped in and made that offer.

But, it seems like the wrong advice to give to clients. First of all, let's all admit that we live in a litigious society. God forbid something seriously wrong shows up after they've moved in. These are very, very nice people. But that doesn't mean they wouldn't sue me for giving them bad advice and costing them a lot of money. And, that does impact what I say.

I also try very, very hard to never push my own personal likes, dislikes and personal biases on my clients. So, just because I'm willing to take that risk doesn't mean I assume that my clients have that same willingness to take risks with what may be their largest investment.

I'll admit that I remain a little torn about this. It's possible this would have been a good home for them. And I'll never know whether my advice was right or wrong. Don't you hate that?!

I had a home inspection today on a new construction property that my clients are purchasing. And I was reminded of what a good idea to have an independent home inspector do an inspection, even on new construction. It's amazing to me how many people don't get this done.

This is not a question of whether or not you trust the builder. First of all, we're all human and fallible! This is a huge purchase and it's just good sense to have another, objective and experienced, pair of eyes take a look.

The best home inspectors will teach you things about your home that the builder will not. It's not that the builder doesn't want you to know these things. But they have homes to build and sell and it can take time to explain why your new furnace could use some additional metallic tape to keep potentially combustible gases from your water heater from being drawn in! A good home inspector spots these little things and will talk you through what you should be doing to protect yourself and your home.

A good inspector will know what is code in a particular jurisdiction and can catch things that the builder missed. The buyer is probably not an expert on local building codes and shouldn't be expected to be. Sometimes your realtor may know a lot about local codes as well. But a home inspector is likely to catch the nuances that can make a difference to you now and in the future. They can catch things that could prevent you from getting your occupancy permit in the time frames needed for settlement. And they can catch items that could come back to bite you when you go to resell the property in a few years.

A builder will not recommend a home inspector. They often view them as nuisance. But a smart buyer will always get a home inspection, even on new construction!