Home Inspections

After months of searching for homes, you finally found a home that suited your needs, and now you are under contract. In most real estate purchase contracts, there is a clause in there that allows you due diligence. Due diligence is a time period that allows you to make sure the home you're buying is in good shape. During the due diligence period, most home buyers request a professional inspector to go through the home and see if they can find any problems with the home before it's bought. But many home buyers wonder, what exactly is going on during a home inspection, and what do I do if there is a problem?

Those questions can be answered when talking with your agent and home inspector, but here are a few things you might want to think about. Home inspections vary widely from state to state and from inspector to inspector. In order to get a satisfactory home inspection, it's usually a good idea to talk to your real estate agent about home inspectors they approve of. Real estate agents usually have a couple favorite inspectors they can refer you to and then you should interview those inspectors to get a thorough understanding of the services they provide.

When interviewing a home inspector, in order to determine if the services they provide are going to be effective for your needs, here are a few questions you should consider. Ask the inspector what type of associations they belong to, how many years they have been in the business, and what type of equipment they have available. Ask how they do their reporting and what type of fee's are associated with a general inspection as well as other items they may offer outside of their normal inspection services.

Items home inspectors should always check during an inspection include structural elements of the home such as foundation, paint, siding, roofing, and inside walls. They should check the exterior integrity including landscaping, grading, elevation, drainage, fence, sidewalks, doors, and windows. Other important home inspection items are plumbing, electrical, appliances, furnace, air conditioner, and any moving parts of a home.

After your home inspection is complete, it's up to you to determine if the required repairs are worth doing yourself or asking the home seller if they will foot the bill. Talk to your agent about what is normal in your area, and see how you can negotiate the repairs to best suite your needs. Home inspections should be done on any home you are going to purchase, they can save you a huge headache in the future, and you never know what could be wrong with a home.