Should I Get a Home Inspection?

Absolutely! Actually, you’ve found your dream home and are buying it. Not only are you buying the spacious and sunny living room or a well-upgraded kitchen, but you’re likely to buy any little or major hidden issues the house might have. In this case, you should take your time and rethink your decision. Are you ok with all conditions? Do you think you should pay that much money for a home with so many problems? Not to lose your mind and not to overpay, you should spend some extra money on the home inspection. Remember, you have a certain time after you purchase the house. Even if you’re not a first time home buyer and buy a lot of homes, you may not be comfortable judging repair costs and what really needs to be repaired. Home inspections usually include both exterior and interior examination: exterior walls, foundation, grading, garage, roof, plumbing, electrical, heating and ventilation, water heater, appliances that you’re buying with the house, laundry, fire safety and bathrooms in details. This is a nice summary of what you should pay attention to. Ask your inspector not to leave anything out of attention. Here we have a great checklist for a DIY home inspection if you are handy enough.

After you receive a detailed report from your inspector, read it carefully and make sure you clearly understand each point. Try to evaluate whether there are serious structural defects. Minor problems may be handled not to have nitpicking with the seller. In this case, you just ask the seller to cover those repairs. Also, you’ll need to have a look at the CLUE report /Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange/. Check it out, to see all the insurance claims filed for the property you’re going to buy. If you’re buying a foreclosed property or short sale, a home inspection is even more critical.

On the other hand, if you’re a home seller, do you really need a home inspection? Again the answer is YES. You know almost every buyer will require a home inspection. If there are serious problems, they will cancel the real estate transaction. Or, at least you’ll lose time and energy on fixes. Meet the inspector at home, when he comes, and introduce yourself. Be sure to hire good professionals for fixes, so that there is no need for a second inspection. You’d better spend a bit more money at first than have to go for 2nd, 3rd inspections. Many specialists mention, that checking out the inspection report is not enough for the homeowner. They say you should attend it as well. It’s easier to understand the problem when you see it than when you just read about it in the report. Some inspectors even turn down inspections, if the property owner is not able to attend it. A good inspector will sit down with you and explain any point you didn’t understand and help you to calculate the costs of repairs. Though inspectors are not allowed to tell you where to buy a house, they know better how much money you’ll need for repairs and upgrades.

A home inspection is also guaranteed for home safety. Many contracts today have points about radon, carbon monoxide and mold, letting the prospective buyer cancel the offer if any of these issues are detected during the inspection.

After all, when you’ve decided to get a home inspection, be sure to refer to the right inspector. Do a little homework. Research online sources and ask your real estate agent to help you find a great inspector in your area. Get a recommendation and compare them. Have a few options. In some states, home inspectors need no special training and have no licenses. So you may only rely on a good reputation and a good friend’s advice. Ask your realtor to interview the inspector to see how comfortable you are with their knowledge and services. Keep in mind, that if you’re not buying a brand new house, it will definitely have issues and problems. You should be ready for that. Anyway, you shouldn’t skip this important step in the home-buying process. It will cost you some money but it is worth every cent saving you money and time in the future.