The InterNACHI Buy-Back Guarantee: What It Is and Why It Comes With Every Buyer Inspection

A question that sits in the back of just about every buyer's mind, even the ones who never say it out loud: what happens if the inspector misses something major?

It's a fair question, and one every home buyer should ask, discuss with the inspector, and with their agent. A home inspection is a visual, non-invasive look at the accessible parts of a home. It's thorough, but no inspection catches every possible issue, and any inspector who tells you otherwise isn't being completely honest. While we're really good at what we do, we are human, and there are limitations to the inspection itself. So we back our work with the strongest guarantee in the home inspection industry: InterNACHI's "We'll Buy Your Home" Guarantee, also called the Buy-Back Guarantee. If a participating inspector misses a covered defect, InterNACHI will buy the home.

At Tech Inspect, the guarantee is included at no extra cost on every buyer's inspection, right alongside a repair warranty. In this post, we'll cover exactly how it works, what it covers, the honest limitations, and why we put our name behind it.

The InterNACHI Buy-Back Guarantee is a program that backs your home inspection. If a participating InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector misses a material defect that was present at the time of the inspection and that InterNACHI's Standards of Practice required them to check, InterNACHI will buy the home back at the price you paid. It applies to your primary residence, must be claimed within 90 days of closing, and at Tech Inspect it's included free with every buyer's inspection. It is a genuine safety net with specific conditions and exclusions, not a way to undo a purchase you later regret.

What is the InterNACHI Buy-Back Guarantee?

InterNACHI is the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, the largest inspection association in the world. Its Buy-Back Guarantee is the boldest promise in the industry: if a participating inspector misses something they should have caught, the association itself will step in and buy the home.

A few things define it:

• It is offered only by participating inspectors. The program is available exclusively to InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspectors who sign up to take part. Not every inspector participates, and not every inspector can. When an inspection carries the Buy-Back Guarantee, it means an independent third party is willing to stand behind the quality of that inspection.

• It is governed by InterNACHI's Standards of Practice. The whole program is measured against one document: the Standards of Practice that define what an inspector is required to inspect and report. That is the yardstick for whether something was truly "missed."

• At Tech Inspect, it's automatic. Every eligible buyer's inspection we perform is registered for the guarantee at no additional charge. There's nothing for you to sign up for.

The InterNACHI "We'll Buy Your Home" Guarantee (Buy-Back Guarantee) is a program offered by participating InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspectors. If the inspector misses a covered defect that was present at the time of the inspection, InterNACHI purchases the home from the buyer at the original purchase price, subject to the program's terms and conditions.

How does the Buy-Back Guarantee actually work?

The mechanism is straightforward, even if the fine print is detailed. If a defect surfaces after closing and you believe your inspector should have caught it, you submit a claim to InterNACHI. InterNACHI reviews it against the Standards of Practice to decide whether the item was something the inspector was required to inspect and report, and whether it was genuinely missed. Before buying any home, InterNACHI performs its own inspection and orders an appraisal.

If InterNACHI determines the inspector did miss a covered item, the association buys the home from you at the purchase price shown on your contract.

Something to be ing clear about: this is a last resort, not a first move. The guarantee kicks in only after the usual avenues have been tried. If a defect turns up, the first steps are to work it out with the inspector, the seller, the homeowners association, or any home warranty in play. The buy-back is the backstop underneath all of that, for the rare case where a covered defect was genuinely missed, and nothing else resolves it.

What has to be true for a home to qualify?

The guarantee is real, but it also has clear guardrails. For a home to be eligible, a set of conditions has to be met. The main ones:

• It's your primary residence. You have to have moved into the home and made it your primary residence.

• The claim is timely. The request must reach InterNACHI within 90 days of closing.

• The home is listed with a licensed agent. To use the guarantee, the home has to be listed for sale, at the original purchase price, with a licensed real estate agent.

• The home appraises at the sale price. InterNACHI hires an appraiser, and the property has to appraise for at least what you paid. The program will not buy a home for more than it's worth, and it isn't a remedy for feeling like you overpaid.

• The defect was present, covered, and missed. The issue has to have existed at the time of the inspection, it has to be something the Standards of Practice required the inspector to check, and the inspector has to have genuinely missed it. If the seller disclosed it, or the inspector already reported it, then it wasn't "missed," and the guarantee doesn't apply.

That last point is the key to the program. The guarantee covers a genuine oversight on an item the inspector was responsible for. It doesn't cover problems that developed later, or things outside the scope of a standard inspection.

What does the Buy-Back Guarantee not cover?

This part is just as important as what it does cover.

The guarantee does not apply to:

• Investment properties, rentals, flips, second homes, and vacant homes. The program is built for owner-occupants of a primary residence. If you're buying a home inspection for an investment property or a rental, the buy-back won't apply to it. (The inspection is still absolutely worth doing. The guarantee just isn't part of it in that case.)

• Historic and landmarked homes. This one catches people off guard. If you're drawn to a home inspection for a historic home in a district like Downtown St. Charles or Soulard, know that historic and landmarked homes are specifically excluded from the guarantee.

• Homes in a floodplain. Given how many of our favorite river towns sit near the Missouri River, this is important. Homes located in a floodplain are not eligible.

• Mobile homes and homes on leased land. A home inspection for a manufactured or mobile home is a good idea, but mobile homes and homes on leased land (such as mobile-home parks) are excluded. Manufactured and modular homes on owned land are fine.

• Homes with unpermitted work, or without a current Certificate of Occupancy. If unpermitted work was done, or the home doesn't have a current Certificate of Occupancy where one is required, the program doesn't apply. Homes in the middle of unfinished repairs or remodeling are out until the work is done.

• Defects that appeared after the inspection. InterNACHI's own example says it best: if the home gets swallowed by a sinkhole or hit by a meteorite after the inspection, that isn't a missed defect. Neither is a system that was fine at inspection and failed months later. (That kind of later failure is exactly what the companion repair warranty, also included for buyer inspections, is for.)

• Items outside the Standards of Practice. If the inspector wasn't required to inspect for it, a missed observation of it doesn't trigger the guarantee.

• Homes that dropped in market value. The program won't buy a home that has gone down in value since you bought it.

There are additional terms around homeowners association approval, seller nondisclosure, and how claims are handled. The full, binding list lives on InterNACHI's own Buy-Back Program legal terms page, and we'd rather let you read it from the association itself. It's worth a read if you're relying on the guarantee.

What does the guarantee pay, and what does it not?

If InterNACHI buys the home, they pay you the purchase price shown on your contract, minus any credits you already received. They do not cover your closing costs, your real estate commissions, or your moving expenses.

InterNACHI is upfront about this, and so are we: the program has helped a lot of people, but it is not designed to make you completely financially whole. The honest way to think about it is a backstop against a catastrophic miss, not a refund on the full cost of a transaction. In practice, that's the right tool for the right job. It exists for the worst-case scenario where a major defect was completely missed, and the home is no longer one you can live in or afford to fix.

How do you make a buy-back claim?

To get the process started, you submit a written or electronic request to InterNACHI within 90 days of closing, along with your original inspection report and documentation of the defect. InterNACHI reviews the claim against its Standards of Practice, performs its own inspection, and orders an appraisal before any purchase moves forward.

You won't have to guess at the process. When we register your inspection, you receive the full terms and the exact submission instructions within your report, so everything you'd need is in one place.

It's also worth saying plainly: buy-backs are rare. InterNACHI inspectors are trained and thorough, and most issues that ever come up after closing get handled through the repair warranty or worked out directly. The guarantee is the safety net you hope you never need, and it's reassuring to know it's there.

Is the Buy-Back Guarantee an extra cost?

No. At Tech Inspect, both client protection programs are included automatically with every eligible buyer's home inspection, at no additional cost, and the guarantee does not change your inspection price. We register every eligible inspection with InterNACHI within seven days of the inspection date, faster than the program requires, with no paperwork, no applications, and nothing for you to sign up for.

You can see current pricing on our inspection pricing page. The protections are simply part of what comes with a Tech Inspect buyer's inspection.

Tech Inspect Certified Professional Inspector performing a Roof Inspection

Why does Tech Inspect put its name behind this?

Our company is built on three things: honesty, integrity, and transparency. Standing behind our inspections with a guarantee is a natural extension of that. Participating isn't automatic. It's a choice a Certified Professional Inspector makes, and it means we're comfortable having an independent association back the quality of our work.

If you're thinking through how to choose a home inspector, whether they participate in the Buy-Back Guarantee is a fair thing to ask. For a home inspection for first-time buyers especially, it's one more layer of confidence during what's already a fast, stressful process. And for the agents we work with, it's a simple, honest way to give a hesitant buyer real peace of mind without overpromising.

One guarantee, paired with a repair warranty

The Buy-Back Guarantee is one of two protection programs we include with every buyer's inspection. The other is a premium repair warranty, administered by Elite Inspection Warranty Co., that reimburses repair costs on covered items after your inspection, including an industry-leading five years of roof leak coverage.

The two work together. The warranty handles covered repairs, like a failed HVAC component, a plumbing leak, or a roof leak, up to its per-claim and aggregate limits. The buy-back is the backstop for a catastrophic miss. You can read the full coverage details, limits, and terms for both on our Protection Programs page.

See how we document what we find

A guarantee is only as strong as the inspection behind it. The clearest way to see how we work is to open a real report. We've published three full sample reports you can click through just like a client would, with the photos, video, and plain-English findings in place. You can also see everything inside a Tech Inspect report to understand how we document condition and severity, finding by finding.

Frequently asked questions

Is the InterNACHI Buy-Back Guarantee real, and who offers it? Yes. It's a real program from InterNACHI, the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors. It's offered only by InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspectors who choose to participate. If a participating inspector misses a covered defect, InterNACHI buys the home.

Does the Buy-Back Guarantee cost extra at Tech Inspect? No. At Tech Inspect, the Buy-Back Guarantee and a premium repair warranty are included automatically with every eligible buyer's inspection, at no additional cost. It does not change your inspection price.

What does the Buy-Back Guarantee cover? It covers a defect that was present at the time of the inspection, that InterNACHI's Standards of Practice required the inspector to check, and that the inspector genuinely missed. If it wasn't disclosed by the seller and wasn't already in the report, and the other program conditions are met, InterNACHI will buy the home at the original purchase price.

What is not covered by the Buy-Back Guarantee? Problems that developed after the inspection, items outside the Standards of Practice, issues the seller disclosed or the inspector reported, homes that have dropped in value, and several property types: investment properties, rentals, flips, second homes, vacant homes, mobile homes, homes on leased land, historic or landmarked homes, and homes in a floodplain. Un-permitted work and missing Certificates of Occupancy also disqualify a home. See InterNACHI's legal terms for the full list.

Does the guarantee apply to investment properties or rentals? No. The program is for owner-occupants of a primary residence. It does not apply to investment properties, rentals, flips, second homes, or vacant homes. A home inspection is still very much worth getting on those properties. The guarantee just isn't part of it.

Does it cover historic homes or homes in a floodplain? No. Historic and landmarked homes are excluded, and so are homes located in a floodplain. If you're buying a historic home or a home near the river, the inspection is still valuable, but the buy-back won't apply to that home.

How long do I have to make a buy-back claim? You must submit your request to InterNACHI within 90 days of closing, along with your original inspection report and documentation of the defect.

Does the guarantee make me financially whole? Not entirely. InterNACHI pays the purchase price on your contract, less any credits you received, but it does not cover closing costs, real estate commissions, or moving expenses. It's a backstop against a catastrophic missed defect, not a full refund of the transaction.

How do I qualify for the Buy-Back Guarantee? You need to have moved into the home as your primary residence, list it for sale at the original price with a licensed agent, submit your claim within 90 days of closing, and have the home appraise for at least the purchase price. The missed item has to be a covered defect under InterNACHI's Standards of Practice.

Ready to schedule an inspection that comes with real backing?

Every buyer's inspection from Tech Inspect includes the InterNACHI Buy-Back Guarantee and a premium repair warranty at no extra cost, with your report delivered within 24 hours. See how our protection programs work, explore three full sample reports, or schedule your inspection and we'll take it from there. Same-week availability and weekend appointments, because a 10 to 15 day inspection window doesn't wait for business hours.

Tech Inspect Home Services LLC · 3580 Highway T, Marthasville, MO 63357 · 636-201-6366 · sean@techinspecthome.com