Home Inspections

Why You Should Have Your Home Inspected by a Professional

1. Firstly, you are not likely to be able to objectively evaluate the home you are in the process of buying. The purchase of a home is an emotional experience. Even if you are very familiar with construction, electrical, plumbing and other trades, etc. it is not likely that you will be objective about the condition of the home. You will see the beautiful back yard, or the beamed ceiling in the living room, or be thrilled to have a wood burning fireplace, but you may not notice antiquated and hazardous electrical wiring, water and drain pipes that are at the end of their service life, structural defects or termite infestation, or any of the hundreds of problems we have disclosed in homes that have been inspected by professionals.

2. Secondly, the cost of a professional home inspection is very low in cost compared to the cost of the home or the cost of potential repairs for defects that may need to be corrected. You are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for the home. A home inspection costs a small fraction of the price of the home. I know people that have pre-owned automobiles inspected by mechanics before they buy. The mechanics charge about $100.00 for this service. The car may cost $10,000.00. That's 1% of the cost of the car for the inspection. The fee most professional home inspectors charges for a home inspection is typically $595.00 for a 4 bedroom/ 2.5 bathroom home. If the home costs $595,000, then our fee is only one tenth of one percent of the price of the home. Your realtor will charge the homeowner 5% or 6% of the price to sell the home, and that amounts to about $25,000 commission, which increases your cost indirectly. As you can see, a home inspection is very inexpensive relative to the other costs involved.

3. The 3rd reason is that homes can have health and safety hazards present that you may not be aware of.. When a home inspection is done by a professional home inspector the first concern is disclosing potential safety hazards, and then the condition of the structure, electrical, plumbing, roof etc. Did you know that most decks and stairs that we inspect have safety issues? Did you know that most of the older homes we inspect have electrical hazards created by modifications or additions done by unqualified persons? Did you know that many older homes have furnaces that are so old that it is likely that they can be lethal? Did you know that chimneys, especially in older homes, usually have internal defects that can result in fires or carbon monoxide poisoning? We look for all of these potential safety hazards and more when we do an inspection.

4. The 4th reason to have a professional perform the home inspection, is that all home inspectors do not all have the same credentials, and some of the inspectors are not professionals by credentialing or experience. You should shop for a home inspector the same way you would choose any other professional that you will be trusting with your welfare. Just as in any profession, prices range from ridiculously low to unreasonably high. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. Experienced highly qualified home inspectors command higher prices than less qualified or less experienced inspectors. Home inspectors that provide narrative reports rather than check list reports charge more because it takes time to properly prepare the report. Home inspectors that have extra credentials, such as Engineering degrees and special certifications, command a higher price.

5. A home inspection done by a professional will provide an objective assessment of the condition of the home. If the home inspection report discloses material defects in the home that you were not aware of when you made the initial purchase offer, then you may be able to negotiate the price of the home downward to allow for repairs or replacements. If the furnace needs to be replaced it could cost about $3500.00, If the roof needs replacement it may cost $6000.00. Compare these costs that you may partly or completely recover in the negotiation process with the cost of the home inspection, and you will realize that a home inspection may save you a lot of money.