Forgoing home inspections becoming a 'worrisome' trend

“When those predicted downward market corrections do happen, and if the interest rates increase, a proper regime and protocols for home inspections will be the answer to make sure we’re still functioning on a proper trajectory for the housing market.”

Parker Lane wasn’t sure why he had to make an offer on a suburban Ontario home before he could ever get it inspected.

The 43-year-old was looking to move into a bigger place for his family of four in Hamilton this fall, when the housing market threw him in for a loop.

“I’d already purchased a great place in the area that we lived in for years and another before that,” Lane said in an interview. “But this was something I hadn’t seen before.

“They literally wanted us to forgo something as basic as a house inspection because they already had too many other offers — many of which, apparently, were coming without people needing to do an inspection before wanting to buy the house.”

Eventually, Lane decided to look elsewhere. “It wasn’t so much about making the offer itself… I just didn’t like the idea of spending so much on a home I’d be living in with my young kids without having that peace of mind,” he said.

Lane isn’t the only Canadian homebuyer this has happened to in recent months.