Is Formaus a replacement for a home inspection?
No — and it isn't trying to be. A Formaus Score Report and a professional home inspection answer different questions at different moments. Formaus works before your offer, from data and photos, to tell you whether a property deserves an offer and what that offer should account for. An inspection works afteryour offer is accepted, in person, to physically verify the property's actual condition. Skipping the inspection because you have a report — any report — is a mistake.
Side by side
| Formaus Score Report | Professional home inspection | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before the offer | After the offer is accepted (contingency period) |
| How | Data + property analysis, remotely, in minutes | Physical on-site examination, typically hours |
| Answers | "Should I offer, and at what number?" | "Is this house actually sound?" |
| Cost basis | $19 one-time | Varies by market and home size |
| Verifies systems physically | No — estimates are labeled as assumptions | Yes — visual and functional verification |
| Negotiation role | Frames offer range and repair leverage upfront | Documents defects for repair requests |
Why the order matters
The inspection happens when you're already contractually engaged and emotionally committed — and inspection fees are spent per house. The expensive pattern for buyers in a competitive market: falling for homes, offering, paying for inspections, and discovering deal-breakers late, repeatedly. A pre-offer analysis filters which houses deserve that spend and arms the offer itself — for instance, age-based cost flagsbecome questions for the seller's disclosure and line items in your negotiation.
Use both, in sequence
- Formaus at the shortlist stage — score candidates, spot hidden-cost patterns, set your offer range (what the report contains)
- Offer with contingencies — informed by the analysis
- Professional inspection during contingency — physical verification of everything the analysis told you to check
Comparing several homes? Buyer Pass covers unlimited reports for 3 months.