The home inspection is roughly 400 dollars. Your mortgage is probably 400,000. People spend more time thinking about the inspection than the loan, then show up not knowing what it actually checks, what their lender actually requires, or why it matters.
Here is the breakdown.
What a Home Inspection Covers
A general home inspection is a visual, non-invasive walk through the major systems of the house. Your Ohio-licensed inspector is not opening walls or pulling permits. They are looking for defects and safety concerns across everything visible and accessible.
That includes:
- Roof, exterior, and foundation
- Structure
- Heating and cooling systems
- Electrical and plumbing
- Interior walls, ceilings, floors, doors, and windows
- Attic, insulation, and visible ventilation
At the end you get a written report with photos and recommendations. That report is a negotiating tool. If the inspector finds a cracked heat exchanger or water intrusion at the foundation, you and your agent use that information to ask for a repair credit or price adjustment before you close.
What Is Not Included
Standard inspections do not cover:
- Invasive testing (no walls opened, no digging)
- Cosmetic defects
- Code compliance guarantees
- Mold, radon, sewer line, pests, or lead paint unless you order those separately
If you are buying a house built before 1978, ask about lead. If the house has a basement or sits in a low-lying area, ask about radon. If you are buying a home with a private sewer line longer than about 25 feet, scope it. The add-ons cost extra. They are almost always worth it.
What Your Lender Actually Requires
This is the most misunderstood part of the process.
Your lender requires an appraisal. Not an inspection.
The appraisal tells the bank what the house is worth and confirms it meets basic habitability standards. It protects the lender. The inspection is a condition evaluation. It protects you.
Those are two different things and most buyers conflate them until their agent explains it.
Conventional Loans
Conventional lenders do not mandate a home inspection. They strongly encourage one. The appraisal is required; the inspection is not. In cases involving older homes or obvious structural modifications, some lenders will require one, but that is the exception.
If your conventional lender is not requiring an inspection, they are not giving you permission to skip it. They just will not hold the loan over your head if you do.
FHA Loans
FHA always requires an appraisal. That appraisal includes Minimum Property Standards checks that go further than a conventional appraisal, so it functions like a partial inspection. FHA does not technically mandate a separate private inspection, but in my experience most Ohio lenders will tell you to get one anyway.
VA Loans
VA loans require a VA appraisal that checks value and Minimum Property Requirements: safety, soundness, and sanitation. A separate home inspection is not required by the VA. It is still recommended by every lender who has seen a VA appraisal miss a failing HVAC system.
Here is the short version: the bank's appraisal protects the bank. The inspection protects you. These are not redundant. If you close without a private inspection and find problems six months later, the appraisal is not going to help you.
What a Home Inspection Costs in Columbus
You pay the inspector directly, usually at the time of the inspection. It is a buyer cost.
Statewide, based on 2025 data, Ohio home inspections run approximately $325 to $600 depending on the size, age, and condition of the home.
In the Columbus area, a standard visual inspection for a typical resale home tends to run $350 to $500.
Size tiers break out roughly like this:
- Under 1,500 sq ft: $300 to $400
- 1,500 to 3,000 sq ft: $400 to $500
- 3,000 sq ft and up, or older construction: $500 and up
Add-On Costs Worth Knowing
Each of these is ordered separately and priced separately:
- Radon test: $150 to $200. Ohio has significant radon exposure in many areas. If the house has a basement, order this.
- Mold testing: $200 to $500. Order this when there is visible water damage history, a musty smell, or unexplained staining.
- Sewer scope: $200 to $500. Camera inspection of the lateral sewer line from the house to the street. Worth it on any home older than about 25 years, particularly if there are mature trees near the line.
- Termite / wood-destroying insect (WDI) inspection: $75 to $150. Required by some lenders and loan programs. Cheap enough to order on every deal.
On a $450,000 house in Westerville, a full package including general inspection, radon, and a sewer scope is going to run you somewhere around $700 to $900. Compared to a 30-year mortgage and the cost of a failed sewer line replacement, that is a rounding error.
How to Use the Inspection Report
The report is not a pass/fail. It is a condition report. Every house, including new construction, has findings.
What you and your agent are looking at is the difference between normal wear, deferred maintenance, and material defects. A 15-year-old water heater near end of life is different from a cracked heat exchanger. New paint on a basement wall that smells like mildew is different from a fresh coat in a dry room.
Your agent helps you read the report with that lens. What is negotiable, what is an inspection objection, and what is normal for the age and price of the house.
If you are under contract on a home in Columbus and want a read on the inspection report you just received, call or text me at 937-239-2919 or book a time at calendly.com/adam-geuy. I will tell you what is worth pushing on and what is noise.
Adam Geuy, Realtor - NextHome Experience | ABR, SRS, PSA | License #202000794 | 937.239.2919
Each office is independently owned and operated.