Both a home inspection and an appraisal are designed to protect you against potential issues with your new home. Because they have completely different purposes, you should rely on each of these reports uniquely to help confirm that you’ve found the perfect home.
The appraiser is generally looking at the marketability of your home. Is it similar in type, quality, square footage, condition to other homes in your market? Those factors will help your appraiser come up with a reasonable value of your home. During the appraisal inspection, your appraiser may also make note of obvious conditions that may affect the livability or marketability of the home such as broken windows, damaged flooring, roof leaks, unsafe decking, or foundation structural deficiencies.
However, appraisers are not construction experts and won’t find or report items that are not obvious. They won’t turn on every light switch, run every faucet, or inspect the attic or furnace. That’s where the home inspector comes in. Home inspectors perform a detailed inspection of your home from the attic to the crawl space. They can educate you about possible concerns or defects with the home so that you can make plans for any necessary repairs.