A home inspection will cost you a little bit of time and money, but in the long run, you'll be glad you did it. The inspection can reveal problems that you may be able to get the current owners to fix before you move in – or else, prevent you from inadvertently buying a money pit. For new home construction, it’s an imperative part of the home buying process. If you are a first-time homebuyer, an inspection can give you a crash course in home maintenance and a checklist of items that need attention to make your home as safe and sound as possible. Whatever the situation, addressing issues early through a home inspection can save you lots of money down the road.
Listed below are some importance of Home Inspection;
1. It provides quality information about the condition of the home.
2. It detects safety issues like mold, carbon dioxide.
3. It reveals illegal installations on the property.
4. It serves as a negotiating tool for the buyer.
5. It helps buyers identify deal breakers on the home.
6. The home buyer learns tips from the inspector on how to protect his home.
7. It can serve as a Contigency between the buyer and seller. This contingency serves the buyer an opportunity to back out of purchase if there are any defects in the property within a particular time frame.
In carrying out a Home Inspection, these are basically a number of things one could could consider.
* Foundations: Checking before the concrete is poured (once poured, there’s very little that can be corrected).
* Pre-drywall: Checking the structure and mechanics before the drywall is laid.
* Full inspection: A full walk-through is performed of the completed home.
What a Home Inspection Entails
Every professional home inspector must not have the same approach, but the main of every good inspector should be; to be able to examine certain components of the home and then produce a report covering his or her findings. A typical home inspection lasts for about three hours and the home buyer must be present, should inquire about the professional’s findings and probably ask questions. If the inspector uncovers any problems, it would make more sense for the home buyer to see it in person, rather than just seeing them in the inspector’s report.
Key points Every Home Inspector Should Note;
* Is the problem a safety issue, major defect, or minor defect
* Which items and furnitures need replacement and which should be repaired, serviced, or replaced.
* Items that are functional for now but needs close monitoring.
Every professional home inspector should be able to advice a home buyer on routine maintenance that should be performed on the property which is much needed by a first-time homebuyer.
It is almost impossible to list out almost everything that a buyer and home inspector should expect when going out for home inspection, but the list below would give a general idea of one’s expectations;
Exterior Inspection
A complete home inspection involves a full inspection of the exterior of the structure. The inspector will have to climb a ladder all the way up into crawl spaces in the roof, inspect it and other items. He also inspects the outside of the structure as well.
Exterior walls
The inspector will check for damaged or missing siding, cracks and whether the soil is in excessively close contact with the bottom of the house, which can invite wood-destroying insects. However, the pest inspector (yes, you might want to engage one of those too), not the home inspector, will check for actual damage from termites, etc. The inspector will let you know which problems are cosmetic and which could be more serious.
Foundation
If the foundation is not visible, and it usually is not, the inspector will not be able to examine it directly, but he or she can check for secondary evidence of foundation issues, like cracks or settling.
Grading
The inspector will let you know whether the grading slopes away from the house as it should. If it doesn't, water could get into the house and cause damage, and you will need to either change the slope of the yard or install a drainage system.
Garage or Carport
The inspector will test the garage door for proper opening and closing, check the garage framing if it is visible and determine if the garage is properly ventilated (to prevent accidental carbon monoxide poisoning). If the water heater is in the garage, the inspector will make sure it is installed high enough off the ground to minimize the risk of explosion from gasoline fumes mingling with the heater's flame Roof
The inspector will check for areas where roof damage or poor installation could allow water to enter the home, such as loose, missing or improperly secured shingles and cracked or damaged mastic around vents. He or she will also check the condition of the gutters.
Interior Inspection
The inspector will also complete a thorough inspection of the interior of the home. He will inspection everything from the ceiling to the cabinets under the sink.
Plumbing
The home inspector will check all faucets and showers, look for visible leaks and test the water pressure. He or she will also identify the kind of pipes the house has if any pipes are visible. The inspector may recommend a secondary inspection if the pipes are old to determine if or when they might need to be replaced and how much the work would cost. The inspector will also identify the location of the home's main water shutoff valve.
Electrical
The inspector will identify the kind of wiring the home has, test all the outlets and make sure there are functional ground fault circuit interrupters (which can protect you from electrocution, electric shock, and electrical burns) installed in areas like the bathrooms, kitchen, garage and outdoors. He or she will also check your electrical panel for any safety issues and check your electrical outlets to make sure they do not present a fire hazard.
Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
The inspector will look at your HVAC system to estimate the age of the furnace and air conditioner, determine if they function properly and recommend repairs or maintenance. An inspector can also give you an idea of the age of the home's ducting, whether it might have leaks if your home has sufficient insulation to minimize your energy bills and whether there is any asbestos insulation.
Water heater. The home inspector will identify the age of the heater and determine if it is properly installed and secured. The inspector will also let you know what kind of condition it is in and give you a general idea of how many years it has left.
Kitchen Appliances
The inspector will sometimes check kitchen appliances that come with the home to make sure they work, but these are not always part of the inspection. If you think you'll want to keep them, be sure to ask which ones are not included so that you can test them yourself.
Laundry Room
The inspector will make sure the laundry room is properly vented.
A poorly maintained dryer-exhaust system can be a serious fire hazard.
Fire Safety
If the home has an attached garage, the inspector will make sure the wall has the proper fire rating and that it hasn't been damaged in any way that would compromise its fire rating. He or she will also test the home's smoke detectors.
Bathrooms
The inspector will check for visible leaks, properly secured toilets, adequate ventilation, and other issues. If the bathroom does not have a window and/or a ventilation fan, mold and mildew can become problems and moisture can warp wood cabinets over time.
However, a home inspection can't identify everything that might be wrong with the property it only checks for visual cues to problems. For example, if the home's doors do not close properly or the floors are slanted, the foundation might have a crack, but if the crack can't be seen without pulling up all the flooring in the house, a home inspector can't tell you for sure if it's there.
However, Some professionals may not have access to;
* Inside walls (won’t cut open drywall or insulation)
* Inside pipes or sewer lines
* Inside chimneys
* Behind electrical panels
After the Inspection
Once you have the results of your home inspection, you have several options.
* If the problems are too significant or too expensive to fix, you can choose to walk away from the purchase, as long as the purchase contract has an inspection contingency.
* For problems large or small, you can ask the seller to fix them, or reduce the purchase price of the property, or to give you a cash credit at closing to fix the problems yourself. This is where a home inspection can pay for itself several times over.
* If these options aren't viable in your situation (for example, if the property is owned by a bank and/or being sold as-is), you can get estimates to fix the problems yourself and come up with a plan for repairs in order of their importance and affordability once you own the property.
It's important to put things in perspective.
Remember that an inspection is:
* Not the sole determinant for buying a house. Maybe you’re willing to make some renovations on the house with these problems. The inspection will help you determine exactly how many you’ll need to do.
* Never free and clear of problems. An inspection will always find a problem with a home. Even new home constructions will have small issues that need to be addressed.
* Not about getting all the fixes done. No seller is going to fix everything for you. They may negotiate on some of them, but expecting resolution of all issues is unreasonable.
With everything said, If a seller refuses home inspection, then the potential problems a home can have must be pretty serious, and the buyer can back out of their purchase.
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