What to Look for in a Home Inspection

Once you go under contract, it’s time to perform a home inspection. Interestingly, you perform your inspection AFTER you go under contract (and deposit your earnest money), NOT before.

You will typically have an inspection period of 10 days. In more competitive situations, this timeline may be much less. Let’s get down to some ways you can use this time wisely.

Start with a personal inspection

First, I recommend that you go back to the home and make sure you still like the home. Hopefully you didn’t just have rose colored glasses on when you saw it. This step doesn’t cost you anything.? During this personal inspection time, look at things like how well the home was cared for. Deferred maintenance can pile up.

Don’t know the neighborhood well?

Come back to see the home at different times of day and different days of the week. Do a practice commute. See how it would feel to live and work from the home for a day. Go early in the morning. Come home after work. Park out front of the home on a Friday and Saturday night.

Outside of the later-mentioned, major issues, you may also find that the home is overall in a state of disrepair. Yes, the below issues may be significant expenses, but among the largest expenses is a home that was never taken care of. When you see rot under sinks, peeling paint throughout, overgrown landscaping, etc. – you may be in a home that is a money pit. It’s one thing for paint to not be your favorite color, and it is another for the paint to no longer be protecting the home.?

If nothing was amiss during your “personal inspection” time, it’s a good idea to hire a licensed home inspector.

Get professionals involved

Start with a general home inspection by a licensed inspector. This may open up some unknowns about the property, or reveal dealbreakers. Home Inspectors climb on roofs, crawl in attics, open electrical panels, test wall outlets, and more. It’s a very thorough process. For additional peace of mind, you may hire additional specialists based on work performed or findings from the general inspection.

For most buyers, the following four items from the inspection may turn into dealbreakers.

1 – The roof is on its last leg.

Your roof is the primary protection for the rest of your home, and a bad roof leads to so many other issues – like mold, rot, and overall damage to the insides of your home. Replacing a roof is rarely under $10,000.?

Fun way to do a quick “self-inspection” of the roof… remember this phrase: Shiny roof? Granules are loose!

2 – The air conditioning unit is bad.

This is a livability issue, as soon as temperatures start to rise. Replacing an air conditioning unit can be costly, and it’s not something you can always “patch” up. You may have to replace it immediately. A new unit can cost over $7,000.?

3 – The sewer line is in shambles.

Depending on the age of the home, the material used to bring waste to the city’s sewer system can be in bad shape. Cast iron rusts… concrete and clay lines break. If you get a sewer scope, the inspector will push a camera down your sewer line and show you if the line looks good or not. New sewer lines are often over $20,000.?

Not sure if you should perform a sewer inspection? I recommend anytime 1980 or older. Fun way to remember when to perform a sewer inspection… remember this phrase: Older than ’80? Sewer might be shady!

4 – Your foundation is bad.

If you see cracking on the walls of the home, on the ceiling, in the corner edges of a room, along a strip of tile, or on the foundation’s exterior, it could be a foundation issue. Depending on the era that your home was built, you may even have a crawl space with a foundation problem that is very difficult to fix. Foundation issues are almost always over $10,000 fixes.

While the sellers are required to provide you with written documentation of issues they may have had while in the home, the old adage is true:?

Trust but verify.?

Having an experienced Realtor at your side as you view homes in person and prior to an inspection will keep you from unnecessary expense and heartache. If you’d like a free educational home tour, so that you know what to look for as you get more serious about buying, let me know! Schedule your tour with me by calling 480-639-9640.