Home Inspections

Many first time buyers overlook a home inspection because they can be lengthy and cost a lot of money. There could be tons of problems brewing below the surface of your dream home. And while a home inspection can postpone your move in date, it can inform you of any potential problems with the house, enabling you to either make a more educated offer or avoid purchasing a home and putting thousands of dollars into repairs.

Once you find an inspector, who is well qualified and willing to search every inch of your home, they will enter your future home and evaluate its physical condition, structure, construction, and mechanical systems. They will also determine the age of important things like your home's heating and electric system, central air, and plumbing.

Home inspections are not cheap and can run up to five hundred dollars. However, it's money well spent. Any reputable real estate agent will tell you that a home inspection could end up saving you thousands in the long run. The inspection allows for these problems to be put on the table and forces them to be addressed when determining the final offer on the home. Inspectors have no emotional attachment with the homes they inspect and will have no problem telling you exactly what's wrong with it. Also, be wary of taking your real estate agents advice. They are well trained in trying to sell you a home. But they are not trained to evaluate the homes mechanical systems or basic construction.

Once you have signed the purchase contract, this is the best time to order a home inspection. Make sure the contract allows for an inspection contingency. Be sure to read the fine print regarding the inspection contingency as it usually only allots you a certain amount of time to have the inspection completed. This allows you to be able to renegotiate your original offer if your home inspector finds an endless amount of repairs.

On the day of the inspection, your inspector will take a few hours to thoroughly go through your home. In approximately seven days, they will provide you with a lengthy inspection report detailing any repairs that should be done immediately along with the lifespan of specific structural aspects of the home. Then you can request that the seller make all or some of the repairs or you can renegotiate the offer to accommodate any repairs that you will have to make once you officially buy the home, based on this report.

Getting a home inspection can seem costly, but it could end up saving you bundles of time and money in the future. Not to mention, peace of mind!