Get the Most out of your Home Inspection

Before you complete your home purchase you need to have the home inspected by a professional. You and your agent will be able to do a visual inspection, but it is necessary to get the opinion of a professional. There are various inspections you can get but the most common are a pest, property, roof, chimney and pool inspections. Each inspector focuses specifically on their type of inspection except for the property inspector that does an overall inspection of the home’s working systems.

To begin, if it is possible for you to be present at the inspection that is preferable so the inspector can show you the items of concern he has found. Even though the inspector will provide a detailed report and pictures, it is easier to understand the report when you were there and had discussed the items identified on the report with the inspector.

Here we will discuss the following items:

The roof is very important for the obvious reason that it basically protects the rest of the home. It is also one of the more expensive systems of the home so knowing the age, condition and any anticipated repairs is important to know. While your property inspector can do an inspection of the roof it is advisable to get an inspection by a roof inspector/contractor. They will also be able to give you the estimated cost to fix any items of concern.

Like the roof, the foundation is a very important component of the house. An unstable foundation will affect most all other parts of the home. The property inspector should be able to identify if there is a possible problem with the foundation and, if he suspects there may be, recommendation of a further inspection by astructural engineer or foundation inspector will be made. Or, from the seller’s disclosures there may have been an indication that there is a problem with the foundation. Should either of these resources indicate a possible problem, hiring a structural engineer or foundation inspector should be done. A foundation inspection and the report will give you better details of the possible problem, the solutions, and cost to correct any issues.

Of course, you want to know that these systems are working but it is also important to know the age of the equipment. Replacing each of these items can be expensive so knowing this information can dictate how to best put together an offer and at what price. As a side note, should the equipment be nearing the end of their useful life the purchase of a Home Warranty can give you some insurance and protection should the equipment fail.

These items are listed on a pest inspection report and are normally issues revolving around a live organism, for the most part. It can vary from dry rot, to fungus to termites, or beetles. These will be items of high concern as they can be hazardous to the condition of the home over the long term as dry rot or bugs can deteriorate the home!

There are manyother systems and components of the home that are important and need to be considered when reviewing the merits of a home. Everything from the foundation to the roof, and everything in between will be reviewed by the property Inspector. This report can be quite lengthy, but it is important to personally read the reports and not rely on your agent to give you a summary of the findings. In addition, to the pest inspection report there are specific inspections as mentioned before that should be considered.

So you have read your inspections. Now what? If there are items that you want the seller to correct then you and your agent need to send the seller’s agent a “Request for Repairs”. This is the formal process to ask them to fix and pay for the items you want corrected. Traditionally the items requested and agreed upon between buyers and sellers are those that are Health and Safety items. Inspections can reveal many issues related to those items mentioned above, as well as issues related to water, such as dry rot, fungus and even mold. These are typically the items that are requested and agreed upon between the parties to be corrected prior to the close of escrow.

Inspections are very important and should be reviewed carefully before committing to the purchase of your home.