​The biggest red flag is skipping the inspection. It's probably cut to accommodate the door trim.  I'm sad for you not knowing the condition of your new home if anything forgoing the opportunity to learn more about your home from the inspector.

Skipping the inspection was what our realtor recommended because it would cut down the mortgage loan process time and make our offer more appealing to the seller. At the time, we had already been living in hotel room for a month and really wanted to finally have a home. I was iffy about skipping the inspection but, ultimately, decided to agree with our realtor

You could still have an inspection just to have someone go through and point out things that need to be fixed asap or will be maintenance issues down the road. Just don't use anyone recommended by the realtor, which is a conflict of interest.

Hire a home inspector to inspect the house and make recommendations for work needed now and work needed in the future.

If the inspection had been made before the offer, it might have reduced the sale price but you might have lost the house. You had to make a choice and if you like the house you made the right one so don't second guess yourself; no house is perfect.

We don't know much about the house but the closet door looks quite nice.

The whole point of the light switch's electrical box is to prevent sparks or flame from reaching the wood door trim. I would remove the cover plate and see if there has been a piece of sheet metal or even metal foil placed on the backside of the door trim that overlaps the electrical box.

What’s done is done. You didn’t require an inspection as a condition of purchase, so just accept it. Schedule a thorough home inspection for the day after settlement. Tell the home inspector you want a list of everything so you know which things he thinks you should address. Because you will own the house, you can accompany him the entire time. Take a clipboard and make your own notes, too. He can discuss which things you should address immediately and which would be ok to leave . For example, our inspection noted the lack of a handrail to the stone cellar-four years later, we still haven’t done this. He noted the age of the hot water boiler,but didn’t think it was an immediate concern. We are addressing replacement this year. Remember, nothing is perfect. If you have been on Houzz for any amount of time, you will have seen complaints about custom builds. You will see many complaints about things the home inspector missed, often major defects.

I often make offers without an inspection contingency. I almost always have some type of inspection before closing anyway. Explain to the buyers that you want to coordinate any maintenance and repairs as soon after closing as possible. Most times these inspections find no major problem but once or twice I have found significant evidence of material misstatements in the property disclosure.

Measure the distance from the center of the switch toggle to the door trim. If its 1 1/8" or greater, the plate covers the switch box and its a crude but safe condition.

If you think the cut edge looks bad, substitute a narrow or offset switch plate as shown below.

If the distance is less than 1 1/8", you could modify the width of the trim so a narrow or offset cover plate will fit.

I avoid closet switches by putting a motion detector inside the closet.

Our inspections have been so educational. The inspector points out where all your shutoffs are, life expectancy of major appliances, materials used. Do have one, anyway. It's the day you learn about your home.

I've found the value of most "home inspectors" to be marginal to none, I don't use them unless it is required. If I suspect issues with a house on systems I don't understand I'll bring in the appropriate expert-- eletrician, structural engineer, roofer-- and get a much more meaningful evaluation than the pages and pages of trivial stuff that inspectors feel compelled to document.

The switch is in that location because it was likely done by somone who isnt an electrician.

Any electrican would know to use blocking and get the switch far enough past the trim.

that doesnt mean youll have issues, it just looks bad.

I check odd switch boxes after purchase.

In one case, a thrifty previous owner had made his own out of wood scraps. In another home, I found lampcord from the switch looped over the edge of the metal box, then buried in the plaster running up to the light over the sink. Worked fine! [Yes, I corrected it.]

Just get a licensed electrician to come and inspect this switch and the rest of electricals. I am not a fan of “general” inspectors. We are fairly knowledgeable ourselves so if we look hard enough we will have a good feel for future issues. The key systems to have experts look at are #1-electrical (fire prevention); #2-HVAC-see where biggest problems lie; #3-plumbing-especially sump pumps and other related systems. Roof is #4 but generally will be obvious to most buyers. Big ticket item if needed. You will be fine. Best of luck to you!

Thank you so much for all the advice, everyone!

Where I live home inspectors are licensed by the state and conduct a very thorough inspection of the house with photos of all deficiencies even using a drone to inspect the roof. No one can find all the deficiencies but its the smart place to begin.

If the available inspectors are not knowledgable or thorough that's another matter.

Requirements to become a Home Inspector in my state:

• Complete 75 hours of classroom training .

• Pass the National Home Inspectors Exam.

• Complete 25 directly supervised inspections with a Massachusetts licensed home inspector. After that the next 100 inspection reports must be reviewed by a licensed inspector.

It's possible that the trim in this house was changed--it's been a pretty popular thing to do in recent years and it looks like you do have nice trim.

My house has skinny 1950s trim and if I changed it to the large trim, many of my switches would need to be moved or the plates cut. I'd move them but I imagine many homeowners wouldn't feel comfortable touching electric and would leave them alone. (And I have dealt with a few contractors that would take the easy way out too!)

I cant wait until we go to sell this house and someone gets a home inspection! This happened during the bathroom remodel. Our DD had surgery and I had to go out of state to help her. DH was home and let this get by. i was NOT happy, but it was done and every thing else was great. There There’s 2 of them like this. I don’t know why DH didn’t tell them to move outlets sideways. Oh well will be fun when we go to sell in the future.

Never never skip a home inspection! I have heard way too many expensive horror stories when you skip a home inspection.

It would be an unusually slow buyers market where outet cover plates would be brought to the attention of the seller. These days, if you buy it, you own it, you fix it.

The reality is that moving an electrical box can be a moderate amount of work, and shaving a little bit off a cover plate or burying the edge in the trim isn't.

My concern would be that such evidence of carelessness suggests amateur/DIY work and/or lack of inspections. Some states allow electical and plumbing work by homeowners but its worth checking the property file at the local building department for permits.

I once found that the contractor had been ordered to stop work by the building department, then the owner sued the contractor and it took a year to correct the structural deficiencies. The file was huge.

A comment on inspections and offers... The most important thing is to get the property that you want under your control. You should absolutely try to get an inspection contingency when you can, and certainly a purchase without an inspection has some inherent risk, but sometimes the best way to get the property under your control is to take that risk. The OP noted that there was another offer on the home and that person also doesn't need an inspection because the OP is in the process of buying that other person's dream-home.

Once you have the home under your control you can still have an inspection, which is likely going to uncover several maintenance items you need to address once you own the home. However, if an inspection uncovers major problems you likely still have some recourse such as breach or renegotiation. Remedies available for breaching are either explicit in or inherent to the contract and you should be willing to pay those remedies, however, the few times I have decided to breach have always been in response to shady dealings by the seller.

If the worst thing I ever found in one of the homes I purchased was a trimmed switch plate, I'd consider myself blessed...😆

Amen to that Kudzu!

Just some thoughts:

Your realtor ... or the seller's realtor?

If the realtor represents the seller, seriously rethink skipping the inspection -- and/or hire an inspector that represents YOU. Alternately, if there is electricity connected to the house, at least go in and inspect it yourself -- turn every thing off and on and make sure it works. Look and listen for problems and don't let anyone distract you while you do that ... if they try to distract you, you might want to be suspicious as to why .

Do some research and get all the original plat and building specs, etc., you can from the local / county real estate records office and don't forget to talk with your closing attorney about title insurance you can purchase at time of closing. See if any of the available documents raise questions and if they do, ask. Always make informed decisions -- "hoping for the best" is not the best plan. Always read and understand what you're signing ... especially when it involves a major purchase.

IF the light switch plate is what is cut, then you could likely remove the light switch cover and look inside the box to which it is attached since the screw to do so is centered beneath the light switch itself. It may well be that the trim board is trimmed to fit over a full light switch plate which would mean removing the trim would be required if there is ever an issue with the switch.