Protecting Yourself with a Home Inspection

To be published in The News-Press March 20, 2010 (HomeFinder.com)

If you have ever bought a home before, you know the basic process: After you’ve made your offer and it has been accepted, you sign a contract that spells out, among other things, your time frame for getting a home inspection done. If your contract is written well, the sale is contingent on everything checking out okay in the inspection.

My point is, the home inspection is an important part of the home buying process, because of how it protects both buyer and seller. A thorough home inspection can identify problems both big and small, from Chinese drywall to faulty appliances. That is why I cannot emphasize enough how imperative it is for both buyers and sellers to insist on a home inspection.

The basic home inspection is little more than a walk through of the home. The inspector will do things such as test the furnace and the kitchen appliances, check the roof and the insulation in the attic, and visually inspect for mold. Getting a home inspection will tell you if any simple repairs need to be done, such as making sure the gutters are carrying water away from the house, but it will also tell you if there are any major problems, such as foundation problems.

In addition to the regular home inspection, there are tests that are highly recommended for homebuyers, such as checking for mold, radon, and Chinese drywall. Although these tests will cost you extra, they are highly recommended. Radon is a colorless, odorless gas that sometimes comes up through a home’s foundation, and can cause lung cancer. Mold also causes a variety of health complaints such as allergies; and although the jury is still out on the effects Chinese drywall has on people’s health, at the very least it can cause significant damage to the wiring and appliances in a home.

Obviously there are some pretty significant problems that can be identified with a home inspection . Just having walked through the home a few times doesn’t mean that you know in the slightest what is going on behind those walls, so to speak – so don’t assume that just because you don’t see anything wrong, everything will check out fine.

That is why, in your best interests as a buyer, it is your responsibility to always be sure your contract allows for a home inspection. It is customary for the contract to give you a deadline for getting the home inspection done – be sure you negotiate an acceptable deadline, and then get it done on time. Also be sure that your contract allows you to renegotiate the offer, or even walk away altogether, if the inspection comes back with problems. For instance, if minor issues such as plumbing problems are discovered, you might want to make the sale contingent on the seller fixing the problem first, or at the very least lower your offer; whereas more major concerns, such as foundation problems, might be grounds for walking away from the deal.

Likewise, a home inspection can be an important tool for sellers, as well. For example, getting a home inspection before you list your home can identify any problems before a potential buyer is ever involved, allowing you to fix the problems ahead of time (or at least disclose them well in advance) so as to circumvent any hiccups in the buying process.

A lot is riding on your home inspection. Many home sales have fallen through because an issue only came to light during the inspection, and the buyer decided to walk away from the sale rather than to try to fix the problem. This is your right as a buyer, and the home inspection protects your right to make an informed decision. Likewise, as a seller the home inspection is a useful tool that protects you from losing a potential buyer over a problem you didn’t know about.

I cannot stress enough to my clients how important it is to get an inspection done by a licensed inspector you can trust. If you would like to discuss in more depth how a home inspection can help you, whether you are a buyer or a seller, feel free to call or email me at any time. I can also provide recommendations for home inspectors that I myself trust. My door is always open and I am happy to help!