Home Inspection Tips for Buyers

What is a Home Inspection?

Home inspection process is simply hiring a professional to inspect the property in all areas (structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing) and prepare a comprehensive report to the the buyer of the house, new or old, in order to help the buyer make an informative decision before closing.  The inspector should be certified and provide a report of the condition shortly after the conclusion of the inspection.

Reasons You Need a Home Inspection

It seems very important to get a home inspection, however many buyers opt out, especially when purchasing a new home or in tough seller’s market when the demand is high and the inventory is low to make their offers appealing to the seller.  In short, you need to get a home inspection to insure you’re not walking into a financial disaster.  You wouldn’t want to close on your home to later find out it has structural problems that are going to cost you thousands of dollars to fix.

How Much Does a Home Inspection Cost?

Cost of a home inspection depends on the size of the house and will differ by home inspector.  Generally we are taking about  a range of $300 – $500 which can save your thousands in the long run.  There are some add – on services, so make sure you check with your inspector and get a quote before begging the process.

Include a Home Inspection Contingency in your Sales Contract

Make sure you have a contingency clause built into your sales agreement that states the sale of the home is contingent upon no major issues found in the home inspection.  Your lawyer or real estate agent can help you with the wording, but you need some way to opt out of the contract based on the results of the inspection.

Who Pays for the Home Inspection?

The home inspection is the responsibility of the buyer.  It’s well worth the money, especially if you’re buying an older home.  However, you strongly should consider paying for a home inspection for a new home.  Of course, you may love and trust your builder, but they make mistakes too.  Keep in mind all new homes are generally insured for a year, but how do you know what to ask to be fixed without a home inspection?

How to Find a Home Inspector

Typically real estate agents are a good place to start to find a trustworthy inspector.  Just ask your agent for their top three picks and you can do your research from there.  You can also search on the web, but you may not be getting someone whom your agent is familiar with their work.

Makes Sure You Require Certification

It’s very important that your home inspector is certified.  Otherwise, they may just be going on their own experience or judgment and not know the proper guidelines regulations to follow for their state.  There are a lot of people with housing experience, but the state certified inspectors are required to look for certain things in the inspection and disclose them to you.  Don’t take this issue lightly, Buying a home is a big, huge and long term investment that you don’t want to risk it to save few bucks.

Hire a Knowledgeable Inspector

While it’s important to hire an inspector who is certified, it also helps to find someone who has some home building, or related experience.  Such inspectors are the brightest when it comes to finding issues as well as describing the problems to you in the report.

Watch Out for Conflicts of Interest

Under no circumstance should you hire a home inspector who also has a repair business looking to sale you services.  While home inspectors may have remodeling and repair business on the side, the temptation is to find things that require their repair services.

Ask About the Inspection Report

A key to differentiate between home inspectors today is how they generate their report.  Do you want a hand written report that is delivered in a few days?  Or, would you rather have an electronic version with images you can via on the web the same day?  Generally, it’s the latter, but it’s your preference.  Some home inspectors, are using home inspection software to offer more conveniences to agents and customers.

Set Expectations in Regards to Timing

You should agree with your home inspector up-front in regards to when they will visit the home and when their report will be generated. This is a key in the home sales because those time frames are set in writing in the sales contract and missing those dates may cost you the right to opt out of the sale if there’s a major problem and Setting such an expectation up-front will insure you have the information you need timely during the already busy process of buying a house.

Use a Home Inspection Checklist

It’s always a good idea to understand what to look for and you can use a checklist from Closing.com as well as some other resources.