Last month I had a buyer ready to waive their inspection contingency on a 1940s bungalow in North Park, right off University Ave. They wanted to look competitive. I told them no.
I know that sounds blunt. But this is the single biggest mistake I see first-time buyers make in San Diego right now. They hear that the market is competitive, they read some advice online about "winning" multiple offers, and they decide the inspection contingency is the thing to sacrifice. It's not.
Here's why I feel strongly about this. That North Park bungalow? Looked gorgeous. Redone kitchen, new LVP floors, fresh paint. But the foundation had cracks you could only see from the crawl space, and the sewer lateral (original clay pipe, 80+ years old) was on borrowed time. A replacement runs $8,000 to $15,000 depending on access. That's money a first-time buyer doesn't have sitting around after closing costs and a down payment that already stretched them thin.
The listing agent will tell you other offers came in with no contingencies. That might be true. But a lot of those offers are from investors or repeat buyers who have cash reserves to absorb a surprise. You probably don't. And you shouldn't pretend you do just to compete.
What I recommend instead: keep the inspection contingency but shorten the timeline. In San Diego's standard purchase agreement you get 17 days by default. I'll write it at 7 or 10. That tells the seller you're serious and moving fast, but you're still protected. Most sellers and their agents will respect that. The ones who won't? You probably don't want that deal anyway.
I've seen data from the San Diego MLS showing roughly 20% of transactions this spring involved some form of repair credit or price reduction after inspection. One in five. Those aren't bad odds for something going wrong. Those are high odds.
Your agent should be the person willing to slow you down when the excitement takes over. That's the job. Anyone can write an offer. The value is in knowing which corners you can cut and which ones will cost you $12,000 six months after you move in.
So before you cross out that contingency box, ask yourself: do you actually know what's under that house?