Inspection or appraisal: which one comes first?

Which usually happens first, the inspection or the appraisal?

On most financed purchases the inspection happens first, often within days of the accepted offer, and the appraisal follows once the lender has the loan moving.

You book the inspector yourself, so the visit can happen as soon as the contract is signed. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests scheduling it right after you choose a home, which leaves room for a second look by a specialist if the first report raises something.

The appraisal runs on the lender's timeline. It is ordered after you apply and the lender has the purchase contract, frequently through an appraisal management company. You pay for it on most loans, but you do not pick the day.

Why does the inspection tend to go first?

Because the contract gives you a short window to act on the inspection, and that window usually closes well before the loan is ready.

HUD's buyer notice on home inspections says asking for an inspection early may let you make the purchase contingent on its results. Wait too long and you can lose that option.

The order also makes sense. The inspection tells you whether you still want the house. The appraisal tells the lender whether the house supports the loan. Settle the first question before spending money on the second.

Can the appraisal happen before the inspection?

Yes, and nothing about the process breaks when it does.

A quick lender, a busy inspector or a specialist visit that takes a week to book can all reverse the usual order. The two visits are independent. Neither professional needs the other's report.

What changes is the order you learn things. If the inspection later turns up something serious and you renegotiate, the revised contract goes back to the lender, because the loan works from the final contract.

Does the order change what each report covers?

No. Each report keeps the same scope no matter which visit happens first.

Under the ASHI Standard of Practice, a home inspector is not required to determine market value or marketability. An appraiser notes condition as it bears on value and lender requirements, and does not take over the inspector's job because the appraisal came first.

What tends to happen in the first week under contract?

The first week is mostly about the inspection, because that is the clock the buyer controls.

Buyers typically note the inspection deadline, book an inspector and ask what the inspection will and will not cover. HUD's notice suggests asking the inspector for their Standards of Practice or a sample report. It also mentions radon testing and other health checks as extras worth raising. Meanwhile the loan moves forward, and the lender orders the appraisal with little input from you.