Home Inspections - a few thoughts
When it comes to home inspections, many professionals sound like Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men” when talking about their clients: You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth! But when getting a home inspection, you need to wrap your mind around being able to handle the truth. Otherwise, your home inspection will talk you out of the home you want to purchase, or if it is not thorough, it will not provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision. The following are my thoughts on home inspections.
1) Never Purchase A Home Without One - The only exception is if you are purchasing a structure you intend to tear down (immediately). Even new construction, get a licensed inspector. You will be able to recover this fee in repair requests, and an inspection can save you massive amounts of money if it uncovers major problems in your prospective new home.
2) Use Only Licensed Home Inspectors - If you plan on requiring repairs as part of your contract, you are toast if you are not using an inspector licensed in the state of Tennessee. Additionally, if the inspector is hurt or damages the property during the inspection, you want someone who carries their own insurance. While your friend, relative or co-worker might save you a few dollars on the cost of the inspection, do you really want to look them in the eye at the party, family reunion or office if they missed something crucial in your home that you end up paying for down the road? I think not.
3) Attend The Inspection - It is amazing what you can learn about your new house just by dogging the inspector around and asking questions. This will also allow you to get some perspective on any issues the inspector uncovers ( and there will be issues ).
4) There Is No Such Thing As A Perfect House - If you are not prepared for some things that need to be repaired and/or improved, then you are probably not ready to own a home. Think of your inspection as a nice road map for things you will want address going forward. Weekend projects appeal to you? You will have a bunch of stuff to keep you busy. It will be important to analyze your inspection and decide what items you can’t live with ( repair requests ) and what things you can live with.
5) Make Sure Your Inspector Is Inspecting Everything They Can - this goes with attending the inspection. Your inspector should “walk the roof”. They can’t see cracked plumbing boots, damaged shingles, bad repairs and questionable flashing from the ground. Some friends of mine had an inspector arrive having forgotten his ladder at a previous inspection. He missed roof problems that cost them many thousands of dollars their first year in the house (they were not my clients) . Your inspector should get into the crawl space ( in every corner ) and let you know if it is inaccessible for some reason. Your inspector needs to get in to the rafter/attic area even if it is a tiny little access hole. They will not cut holes in the wall, or empty out cluttered closets and move a lot of furniture to get to stuff, so if you are in contract on a very cluttered house, make sure your contract requires the seller to clean up before the inspection. The seller is also required to have the utilities on so the inspector can check HVAC, Electrical and Plumbing issues. If these things are not happening at your inspection, demand that they do.
6) Other Inspection Items - you can inspect virtually everything that is important to you. Radon testing, sewer line testing, mold/air quality, lead-based paint. Talk with your Realtor about those things that are most crucial to you. Then it is a matter of balancing costs of inspection vs possible return if problems are uncovered.
A home purchase is probably more money than you have every spent on anything before. Don’t cheap out to save a few hundred dollars. It will almost always come back to haunt you. And demand an inspector that will give you an accurate picture of your new house’s strengths and weaknesses, not just make you feel all warm and fuzzy to avoid “killing the deal”. Because that warm fuzzy feeling can go away quickly if you are hit with problems a good inspector could have uncovered.
Buy Smart
M
You mentioned that the inspector should walk the roof to inspect the shingle–as a roofing contractor I agree. I’ve seen a number of homes where the inspector said the roof was acceptable but, after talking to the homeowner, I found out that the”inspector” didn’t do his inspection and the roof was failing.
Personally, I don’t have much confidence in inspectors–at least when it comes to roofing. IMO, better to get a roofer to see if there is a problem or not.