Once the seller accepts your offer, your purchase agreement gives you a set window to have the home inspected and respond. You hire a licensed home inspector, and any specialists you want, then ask the seller for repairs, a credit or a lower price, or accept the house as it is. If the contract allows it, you can also cancel; the deadlines and options in your purchase agreement are what control.
I'm Wes Johnston, a Realtor with Trueblood Real Estate in Fishers. Before real estate I spent about ten years designing homes and managing their construction for a custom builder in Hamilton County, so an inspection report is familiar ground. I'm not a lawyer; your purchase agreement sets your deadlines and options.
Here's the thing: the inspection period goes fast, and the clock starts when your offer is accepted, not when you get around to calling an inspector. Book the inspection the same day if you can.
Your purchase agreement sets it. The inspection deadline is filled in when the offer is written, so it can be different on every deal. It isn't one number for the whole state.
Read the dates in your contract the day your offer is accepted and put them on your calendar: when the inspections have to be done, when your response is due, and how long the seller has to answer. I track all of them for my buyers, but you should know them too.
Yes. Unless the law exempts them, no one can do a home inspection for pay in Indiana without a home inspector license (IC 25-20.2-5-1). To get one, a person has to complete a board-approved training course, pass an exam approved by the board, and carry at least $100,000 in general liability insurance, among other requirements (IC 25-20.2-5-2).
Inspectors are licensed through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency's home inspectors board, which also takes complaints (Indiana PLA: Home Inspectors). You can check any inspector's license with the Indiana license lookup before you hire them.
Indiana law defines a home inspection as a visual analysis giving a professional opinion of the condition of the house and its garage or carport, its reasonably accessible installed components, and how its systems operate (IC 25-20.2-2-6). The list includes heating and cooling, plumbing, electrical, structure and foundation, roof covering, exterior and interior components, the attic, and the basement or crawl space.
Two limits matter. It's visual, so the inspector won't open walls or move your seller's furniture. And the same statute says a home inspection is not a code compliance inspection. An older house can pass a home inspection and still not meet today's building code, and that's normal.
In central Indiana, yes. Seven of the eight counties in and around Indianapolis are in the EPA's highest radon zone (EPA: Map of Radon Zones). A real estate radon test runs at least 48 hours (EPA guide), so start it early in the inspection period. My radon guide covers testing and fixes.
A sewer line camera scope for an older home or one with big trees near the line. A well and septic inspection if the house isn't on city water and sewer. A wood-destroying insect (termite) inspection. A roofer, electrician or structural engineer if the general inspector flags something and recommends a closer look. Book those fast, because they all have to fit inside the same deadline.
Generally you can ask the seller to make repairs, give you a credit at closing, or lower the price. You can also accept the house as it is. If your purchase agreement allows it, you can cancel within the deadline. The seller can say yes, say no, or counter, and the contract sets how long everybody has to respond.
My advice: go after the big stuff. The roof, the structure, water getting where it shouldn't, and the heating, cooling, electrical and plumbing systems. A long list of small items reads as nitpicking and can cost you goodwill on the items that matter. After ten years building houses, I can usually tell you whether a finding is a real problem, a cheap fix, or normal for a house that age.
For most sales, the seller has to give you Indiana's disclosure form before accepting your offer. It tells you what the seller knows about the house. It isn't a warranty, and it doesn't replace an inspection. And if a disclosure delivered after your offer is accepted reveals a defect, Indiana law gives you two business days to cancel in writing.
A brand-new home that nobody has lived in is exempt from the form, which is one reason to inspect new construction too. Section numbers and the details are in my Indiana seller's disclosure guide.
Yes. A new house can still have a missed flashing detail, a disconnected duct or a grading problem. City and county building inspections check code, and a home inspection is a different thing. On a home being built, ask the builder in writing to let your inspector in before the drywall goes up, and again before closing. More on that in new construction or resale.
I don't recommend skipping it. If you need a stronger offer, there are better ways to get there, like a shorter inspection window or agreeing up front that you won't ask for small repairs. Which one fits depends on the house and the competition, and we'd talk it through before you write the offer.
More buyer questions, answered: the steps to buying your first home, what happens if the appraisal comes in low, new construction or resale, how earnest money works, what happens on closing day, and what to know before moving to Indianapolis. The radon guide and seller's disclosure guide go deeper on two things that come up in almost every inspection period.
Send it over. I'll help you sort the real problems from the normal wear, and we'll decide what's worth asking the seller for before your deadline.
I'm not a home inspector or an attorney. I'll tell you when a finding needs a specialist or a question needs a lawyer.
Fishers-based. Ten years building houses before selling them. Committed to your success.
Tell me what the inspector found or what you're worried about. I'll help you plan the response.
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Tell me about the house and what the inspection turned up. I'll get back to you with how I'd handle it.
Contract questions may need a real estate attorney; I'll tell you when.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Inspection deadlines and remedies are set by your purchase agreement; ask a real estate attorney about your specific contract.