The importance of a home inspection

You are ready to buy a home, you have a great realtor, you are qualified for a mortgage, your lawyer is waiting to go, and you are looking for the home you want to live in. Before you actually find that home you have some more homework to do. You need to find a reliable and decent home inspector. In many states, once the contract is accepted you will only have a short time to get your inspections done.

A great home inspector not only does a complete and accurate inspection but he also writes a clear and succinct report. Your lawyer should be able to tell what the material defects are in just a few minutes. You should be able to understand how certain conditions of the home affect the value, desirability, habitability, or safety in the home. The search for such a valuable professional should not be done with a time limit of just a few days.

The home inspector will help you put into perspective how the conditions he finds will affect the value, desirability, habitability, or safety in the home you are looking for. Not all conditions will affect all buyers the same. Good home inspectors ask questions about you and how you will live in the home. A raised narrow walkway to the house may look great, but if your aunt in a wheel chair cannot navigate the walkway she may not visit as often. It is not always the material defects that will be important to you when buying a home.

If a qualified and licensed home inspector finds material defects to the home, the buyer can then ask for repair, replacement, or not buy the property at all. Some conditions of the home may not be easily repairable. For instance, a leaking skylight may not be repaired properly the first time, even with the best roofer you can find. You may need to live with this until it can be properly diagnosed and solved. You will not be told how to fix a defect but he inspector will give an opinion of the severity and where to look for help when solving the problem.

A good home inspector will tell you when he just does not know about a certain condition that he finds. If the home inspector finds that the basement walls are damp and relative humidity is high, he will be sure to write this up as a material defect, the home inspector may not be able to give an exact reason why. In this case the home inspector may give you some probably scenarios, but will tell you to have the condition further examined by licensed and qualified professional in the field. Now you can decide if you want to deal with this condition before you buy the home.

A good home inspector can and will put conditions together, as symptoms of a problem, and give a diagnosis when possible. Many problems in the home may display conditions that when put together properly will point to a material defect. This is where experience and knowledge of the inspector are critical.

It is not just about the material defects. The home inspector may find such problems as the stairway ceiling is lower than 80 inches. This could cause a head banging situation. If you son is six foot six, this may be a bigger problem to you and your family than other families. The distance of the spindles on an upper railing may be too far apart for safety of small children. This may be a problem if you plan on having small children in the home. Every condition in the home will affect the desirability and habitability of each buyer differently.

The home inspection report is almost more important than the inspection itself. This document will spell out how conditions affect the value, desirability, habitability and safety in the home. Your lawyer was not at the inspection, the report needs to clearly alert the lawyer to the salient points that will need his attention. Many times the report will point out a deficient condition and because it is not clear the lawyer does not address the problem before the close of escrow. A properly written report can save you money, time, and a future headache when buying a property.

A good home inspection will help the home buyer access their soon to be purchase with respect to value, desirability, habitability and safety. It could mean the difference between a purchase you can live with and buying a money pit. A good home inspection will give you information beyond just what is deficient with the home. If done properly a home inspection is worth the money.