What is the difference between a home inspection and an appraisal?

The two get confused because both involve someone walking through the house with a clipboard before closing. The purposes could hardly be more different. The appraiser is answering one question for the lender: is this property worth enough to secure the loan amount. They do that primarily through comparable sales, adjusted for square footage, lot, condition rating, and features. The visit is largely to confirm the house exists as described, measure it, and assign a general condition rating. Thirty minutes is a normal appraisal visit.

The inspector is answering a completely different question for you: what condition is this house actually in and what will it cost you. That means the attic, the crawl space, the roof, the panel cover off, every fixture run, moisture readings where warranted, and a photographed report of every finding. Two to three hours minimum. An appraiser will note that the roof appears to be in average condition. We will tell you the roof is an architectural shingle installed in 2006 with granule loss at the south plane, two failed pipe boots, and a sealed-over valley repair that was not flashed.

Who pays and who the report belongs to also differs. You typically pay for both, but the appraisal is ordered by and belongs to the lender, and you receive a copy because federal rules require it. The inspection is ordered by you, belongs to you, and you decide who else sees it. That ownership matters. Your inspection report is your negotiating document, and it is yours to share with the seller or not.

The appraisal can still surprise you, particularly on FHA and VA loans, which carry minimum property requirements. An appraiser on those loan types can call out peeling paint on a pre-1978 home, missing handrails, a roof with insufficient remaining life, exposed wiring, or a non-functioning HVAC system, and require correction before closing. That is not an inspection. It is a narrow list of lender conditions. It catches a handful of things and misses everything else.

A low appraisal and a bad inspection are also different problems with different solutions. A low appraisal is a financing gap: renegotiate price, bring more cash, or dispute the comparables. A bad inspection is a condition problem: request repairs, request a credit, adjust price, or terminate under your contingency. Both can happen in the same transaction and they are handled on separate tracks. Do not let your lender's appraisal timeline substitute for your own inspection timeline.