Home Inspections

Home inspections are done after your offer has been accepted.
Generally, you make an offer contingent on the property passing
its home inspection. Basically, the home inspection is to protect
you and the seller in case there happens to be something wrong
with the house. It should give you a good idea of what you are
about to purchase, what problems you may encounter, and allow you
time to negotiate the sales contract with the new information that
you have gained about the house.

A thorough home inspection would include checking electrical,
plumbing, gas and water lines in addition to individual outlets,
light sockets and faucets. The foundation, roof, windows, siding,
attic or crawl space would be inspected. The air
conditioning/heat unit should be inspected. In other words, a
thorough overall inspection of the house should be done.

The home inspector will arrive with a home inspection checklist
or a home inspection worksheet. These detailed documents will
list every item that needs to be inspected. Go to Google and
type "free home inspection checklist" to see the extent of what
the home inspector will be looking at.

No house is perfect, so expect to have at least a few potential
problems uncovered by the inspector. Once the inspection has
been completed and you have reviewed the report, you need to
decide if any of the uncovered problems need to be fixed and by
whom. You can ask the seller to fix the problems -- which the
seller may or may not do.

When negotiating with the seller, consider what type of market
you are in --- has the market been slow? Are the houses sitting on
the market a long time? Or are there multiple offers on houses
within hours or days?

If the real estate market has been slow and the house has been on
the market for a while, you should be in a stronger position to
negotiate with the seller regarding the issues brought up by the
home inspection.

On the other hand, if the house has multiple offers, the seller
is in the stronger position. If you really want the house, think
carefully about your options before accepting it without the
seller fixing the problems. Is the problem bad enough that you
would want to pass up on the house all together? Or are they
problems that can be fixed relatively easily?

Think of your financial situation. For instance, if you are getting
a good deal on the house you are looking at, would it be
less expensive to replace the roof yourself on this house than to
lose the house to another buyer and possibly end up paying more
for a house that does not need a new roof?

An important aspect to remember, is that, as with all people you
may hire for a job, home inspectors come with a wide range of
qualifications. Ask your realtor for recommendations and then ask
the home inspector yourself about their qualifications, methods,
and approach. Ask to see the home inspection checklist the
inspector will use and ask how long the inspection will take. A
thorough inspection should take several hours or more to
complete.

Use the information in the inspection to make a sound, well-
grounded decision about the house you are planning to buy.
Whatever you do, don't let your heart lead you to make a poor
decision when your head is telling you to look at the facts and
move along. The home inspection is just one more tool that will
help you find and purchase the home that is right for you.